Department for Transport

Train Operating Companies: Standards

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which companies conducted the contract scorecard evaluations for (a) Great Western Railway, (b) Chiltern, (c) CrossCountry, (d) East Midlands, (e) Greater Anglia, (f) c2c, (g) South Western Railway, (h) GTR, (i) TransPennine Express, (j) Avanti, (k) West Midlands Trains, (l) Southeastern.

Huw Merriman: Performance-Based Fee Scorecard evaluations for Emergency Measures Agreements, Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements and National Rail Contracts for all private train operators have used independent evaluators sourced through Arup, Atkins and Jacobs.

Railways: Strikes

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of industrial action by Network Rail employees on the rate of track access charges paid to Network Rail by train operating companies.

Huw Merriman: When industrial action by Network Rail employees results in fewer passenger services operating, this has an impact on the amount of variable track access charges paid to Network Rail by train operating companies. The rate (i.e. the cost per vehicle/train mile) of the variable track access charge, and amount of fixed track access charges, remain unchanged during industrial action. The impact of industrial action on variable track access charges depends on factors such as the extent of the industrial action and the number of services that operate, but it is estimated that the average daily impact on infrastructure charges (inclusive of variable track access charges) is around £1.5 million per day of industrial action.

Railways: Pay

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many rail sector employees are currently receiving salaries exceeding £40,000.

Huw Merriman: Network Rail publish a breakdown of staff salaries by bands which is available at the following link: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Staff-salary-breakdown-in-20k-bands-2022.xlsx It shows that as of 8 February 2022 around 20,000 (47 per cent) of its staff were earning basic salaries of £40,000 or more. Information on train operating companies is not held centrally by the Department.

Railways: Strikes

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse was of funding provided to rail franchises in compensation for strikes in 2022.

Huw Merriman: No compensation has been paid by the Department to train operators to cover lost revenue due to strike action in 2022. Under the terms of the operator agreements put in place since the onset of COVID, the Government is on revenue risk not operators and hence operators are not financially affected by any fluctuations in revenue.

Railways: Birmingham

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on the potential merits of making improvements to the Shrewsbury-Black Country-Birmingham rail route.

Huw Merriman: Midlands Connect has submitted a Strategic Outline Business Case outlining its proposals to upgrade the railway line between Shrewsbury and Birmingham, which includes an economic case. My officials are considering the case, and an update on new rail enhancement schemes will be provided in due course.

Train Operating Companies

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his Answer of 10 January 2023 to Question 117733 on Train Operating Companies, how many times he met representatives from the train operating companies in each week since August 2022.

Huw Merriman: Ministers regularly hold meetings with representatives from the train operating companies. Information on Ministers' meetings with train operating companies is included in the Ministers’ Transparency Publication, issued on a quarterly basis, and is available via this webpage:Transparency and freedom of information releases - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Aviation and Railways

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of proposals by the French Government to ban domestic flights on journeys that would take less than two and a half hours by train.

Jesse Norman: The latest CAA data available shows that there are currently just two scheduled UK domestic routes that are within 2.5-hour range by train. Based upon the French Government’s proposals neither of these routes would be affected as they form part of connecting international flights into Heathrow.

Railways

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will bring forward a revised rail reform White Paper which includes the role of private sector operators.

Huw Merriman: We recognise that reform is needed to create a railway fit for the 21st century and that the private sector has an important role. We are engaging with the sector and will set out our plans for delivering this much needed reform shortly.

Department for Transport: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s publication of spending over £500 with a Government procurement card in August 2021, for how many (a) individuals and (b) nights accommodation was purchased at The Plaza Tirana on 26 August 2021; and what the purpose was for that stay at that hotel.

Jesse Norman: The purpose of the visit was for the UK Director General for Civil Aviation and another senior member of the DFT International Aviation team to attend the 70th Special Meeting of European Civil Aviation Conference Directors General of Civil Aviation. They stayed for three nights in the designated conference hotel, in line with normal practice.

Railways: Midlands and North of England

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 14 of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands published on 18 November 2021, what estimate his Department has made of the length of track in kilometres that is feasible to upgrade to 140mph.

Huw Merriman: Initial analysis conducted by Mott MacDonald on behalf of the Department suggests that it would be feasible to upgrade up to 135 miles (217km) of the East Coast Main Line to support 140mph operation.

Railways: Midlands and North of England

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Integrated Rail Plan p15, whether the assumptions of twenty five minute time savings are based on reducing intermediate stops along the East Coast Mainline.

Huw Merriman: The Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) sets out ambitious plans for the upgrade of the East Coast Main Line (ECML). The fastest ECML journey times quoted in the IRP may be achieved through a combination of increasing maximum speeds from 125mph to 140mph on some sections of the route, and by some services making fewer intermediate stops. Intermediate stations along the route would be served by separate services and the detailed timetable specification will be developed when the IRP is progressed.

Railways: North of England

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 33 of the Autumn Statement 2022, published on 17 November 2022, CP 751, whether the commitment to deliver core Northern Powerhouse Rail includes a new line from Manchester through Bradford to Leeds.

Huw Merriman: As confirmed by the Chancellor at the Autumn Statement, the Government is committed to delivering the Northern Powerhouse Rail core network as set out in the Integrated Rail Plan. This includes upgrading and electrifying the Calder Valley line between Leeds and Bradford Interchange.The Department for Transport will take an adaptive approach to investment when considering any future projects. This includes the options for better connections to Bradford.

Driving Licences: Ukraine

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the length of time for which Ukrainian refugees may drive a Ukrainian-registered vehicle without (a) registering and (b) taxing the vehicle with the DVLA.

Mr Richard Holden: Foreign registered vehicles brought temporarily into the UK are exempt from UK registration and licensing requirements for up to six months in any 12-month period. After this period and to comply with road safety legislation, any foreign vehicle must be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. The Government recognises the unique circumstances that many Ukrainians have encountered when fleeing their home country and in response His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is reviewing import duty relief applications. I have assigned dedicated resource across my Department to support those that need to register their vehicle.

P&amp;O Ferries

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he last met representatives of P&amp;O Ferries; and what recent assessment he has made of the future viability of the ferry routes that that company operates from UK ports.

Mr Richard Holden: The Secretary of State has not met with representatives of P&O Ferries. The Department works closely with ports and operators across the Maritime sector to understand the market and any potential sources of disruption. We have not however made a specific assessment of the viability of P&O Ferries’ routes to or from UK ports.

Electric Scooters

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) legally and (b) illegally operated e-scooters in the UK.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many accidents involving e-scooters were recorded in England in the last 12 months; and in what proportion of those accidents e-scooter operators were wearing helmets.

Jesse Norman: The Departments most recent figure shows that 28,608 rental e-scooters were available to operate legally as of the end of November 2022. This figure relates only to e-scooters operating as part of the e-scooter trials in England and is not representative of the UK as a whole. In 2021 and 2020 combined, just under 1 million e-scooters were imported into the UK, according to UK trade data. There are currently no import figures available from the year 2022. It is not known how many of these e-scooters are being operated legally, on private land or as part of the trials, and illegally, on public land and roads. The provisional estimate of the number of injury collisions reported to the police in England involving an e-scooter was 1,304 in the year to end June 2022, the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available. Information on helmet wearing by e-scooter users is not collected.

Department for Transport: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s publication of Government procurement card spending over £500 for November 2021, for which team were Signal CX paid £2,850 on 23 November 2021 to organise an away day; how many individuals took part; in which location the event was held; and for what purpose the awayday was arranged.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for November 2021, for which team were Signal CX, providers of Service Animals training courses, paid £2,850 on 23 November 2021 to organise an away day; how many individuals took part in that away day; and for what purpose it was required.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport has budget for procurement of training by senior managers in line with agreed business objectives. In June 2021, the Local Transport Directorate carried out a re-organisation of the directorate. To support teams work better and build leadership and service delivery skills, the Senior Leadership Team and their direct reports (29 individuals in total) partook in a 1.5 days workshop. This was delivered virtually and facilitated by an external service provider SignalCX. The team building exercise to improve team dynamics was based on ‘service animals’ which is a profiling and training tool.

Department for Transport: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference his Department’s publication of Government procurement card spending over £500 for August 2021, whether the two identical entries for spending at The Plaza Tirana on 26 August 2021 represent two separate items of expenditure totalling £1,047.50 or duplicates of the same item of expenditure worth £523.75.

Jesse Norman: The two entries represent two separate items of expenditure. They are for two separate hotel rooms of the same price, which were booked separately for the two individuals attending the meeting in Tirana in August 2021. The items were authorised and relate to stays by delegates in the conference hotel.

Department for Transport: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for May 2021, which hotel was used by the seven staff from his Department attending the 2021 Information and Records Management Society Conference; and whether the costs of that accommodation were included in the £5,451.60 paid by his Department to Revolution Events Ltd. on 27 May 2021.

Jesse Norman: The payment to Revolution Events Ltd on 27 May 2021 was for attendance at the Information and Records Management Society Conference 2022. This was held at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Glasgow Central. The seven staff who attended stayed in the conference hotel for the duration of the conference, and costs of accommodation, lunch and refreshments were included in the sum paid.

Department for Transport: Waste

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many tonnes of food waste were produced from his Departmental estate in the financial year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 up to 31 December 2022.

Jesse Norman: Please find below a table stating how much food waste was produced across DfT:2021/229.74 tonnes of food waste2022/236.00 tonnes of food waste (up to 30/9/22 as Q3 data is not available until end of January 2023) The relative increase in 2022/23 to date is attributed to the increase in office attendance during that period.

Train Operating Companies: Disclosure of Information

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department was required to sign-off the appointment of Eversheds Sutherland to represent the train operating companies in response to a complaint to the Central Arbitration Committee by the RMT union in relation to the non-disclosure of information for collective bargaining purposes.

Huw Merriman: The decision by the Rail Delivery Group to appoint Eversheds Sutherland to represent them in the above matter did not require the prior agreement or sign-off of the Department.

Northern Transport Acceleration Council

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding was provided to the Northern Transport Acceleration Council; and how many meetings of the council were held.

Huw Merriman: The Northern Transport Acceleration Council was established in the summer of 2020 as an advisory forum to provide the north’s leaders, with regular, direct access to ministers. Five full plenary sessions, two topical meetings and one extraordinary meeting have so far been held. However, the council has also facilitated direct engagement between ministers, leaders and officials. In total, over 150 pieces of engagement have taken place. There were no costs associated with the Northern Transport Acceleration Council other than civil servant time.

Train Operating Companies: Standards

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department takes to check for potential conflicts of interest when awarding contracts to companies to complete the scorecard evaluations for train operating companies.

Huw Merriman: Companies that bid to supply and manage independent evaluators for Performance-Based Fee scorecard evaluations are subject to strict controls throughout the procurement process to check for any potential, perceived and actual conflicts of interest. Independent evaluators sourced through these companies are then required to make a formal confirmation to the relevant supplier and the Department that no conflict of interest exists.

Train Operating Companies: Standards

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which companies have been appointed to perform the contract scorecard evaluations for the each of the following train operating companies (a) Avanti, (b) Great Western Railway, (c) Chiltern, (d) CrossCountry, (e) East Midlands; Greater Anglia, (f) c2c, (g) South Western Railway, (h) GTR, (i) TransPennine Express and (j) West Midlands Trains.

Huw Merriman: Upcoming Performance-Based Fee Scorecard evaluations for these train operators will use independent evaluators sourced through the following suppliers: Atkins, Jacobs, Arup, Steer and Costain.

Cycling: Accidents

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many accidents involving cyclists were recorded in England in the last 12 months; and what proportion of the cyclists involved were wearing helmets.

Jesse Norman: In 2021, the latest year for which figures are available, there were 15,855 injury collisions involving cyclists in England. Where cycle helmet status was known, 54% of cyclist casualties were reported by the police as wearing a helmet.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy Bills Rebate: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he will take steps to help ensure that landlords in Northern Ireland who receive the £600 energy payment pass it on to tenants.

Graham Stuart: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave him today to Question 118932.

Innovation and Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the keynote speech made by the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation at Onward UK on 11 January 2023, where the 30 clusters of unique R&amp;D strength are; and if his Department will publish the location and specialist strength of those clusters.

George Freeman: There are clusters of innovation across the UK, from the Newcastle digital cluster to the compound semiconductor cluster in South Wales. BEIS is working closely with other departments and partner organisations such as UKRI to map these and ensure we have as rigorously evidenced and current a list as possible. This includes commissioning research that will use innovative data science techniques to map firms performing R&D and innovation in the UK and explain how they cluster. We will publish this in a report and interactive tool later this year, which will help investors understand opportunities to support our strengths.

Innovation and Research: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the keynote speech made by the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation at Onward UK on 11 January 2023, whether his Department plans to announce a stretch target for R&amp;D as a proportion of GDP.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the speech by the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation on 11 January 2023 entitled Science Superpower: the UK’s Global Science Strategy beyond Horizon Europe, for what reasons his Department estimates that 2.8 per cent of the economy was spent on research and development; what year this estimate was for; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is an independent body, and this update is part of a wider programme of work to improve economic statistics. Its 22 November 2022 release estimated that £59.7bn was invested in UK R&D in 2019, increasing to £61.8bn in 2020. The ONS has not published estimate of R&D as a percentage of GDP. This is because they have not yet incorporated the improvements to the measurement of R&D in the business and higher education sectors into the calculations of GDP. BEIS understands the complexity and time required in feeding the updated R&D changes through to GDP as part of National Accounts and looks forward to this calculation in due course. If the ONS had made the calculation, BEIS believes it would have produced a figure between 2.6% and 2.7% of GDP for 2019 and between 2.9% and 3.0% for 2020.

Innovation: Public Expenditure

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has taken recent steps to (a) support and (b) increase horizontal innovation between publicly funded organisations and institutions.

George Freeman: The new Government Office for Technology Transfer, located within BEIS, has been working with number of public sector bodies to unlock the potential of public sector knowledge assets that will deliver value to the UK economy and society. The Government’s commitment to increasing public expenditure on R&D to £20 billion per annum by 2024/2025 will help to build on the vibrant mix of publicly funded institutions which work closely together to drive innovation.

Unpaid Work

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban employers from using unpaid work trials at the outset of employment.

Kevin Hollinrake: Existing legislation already bans unpaid work trials that are not part of a legitimate recruitment process. They are not permitted if they are simply for the financial benefit of the employer or excessive in length. An unpaid trial lasting more than one day is highly likely to be illegal in all but very exceptional circumstances.It is the responsibility of all employers to ensure they are paying their staff correctly and we will continue to take robust enforcement action against employers who fail to pay the minimum wage.

Small Business Commissioner: Complaints

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many complaints have been (a) received and (b) resolved by the Office of the Small Business Commissioner in each year since it was founded.

Kevin Hollinrake: Since established in December 2017 - 31st March 2022, the OSBC handled 641 complaints, plus 772 enquiries. Annual reports give further information, available here:https://www.smallbusinesscommissioner.gov.uk/?s=Annual+report. The number of small businesses contacting the OSBC during the last financial year was 261. This included 113 complaints and 148 enquiries, of which 12 complaints resulted in the OSBC assisting in payment being made. Furthermore, 75 small businesses approached the OSBC for help with payment issues outside of the Commissioner’s scope. The remaining complaints were dealt with through informal interventions or were signposted to other alternative support providers.

British Business Bank: Standards

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the (a) outturn and (b) target for each of the Key Performance Indicators of the British Business Bank has been in each year since it was founded.

Kevin Hollinrake: All information on the Key Performance Indicators of the British Business Bank, including yearly targets and outcomes, can be found in the Annual Report and Accounts for each year, which are publicly available on the Bank’s website.

Small Businesses: Telephone Services

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many calls were made to the Business Support Helpline (England) in each of the last 12 years.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many webchats the Business Support Helpline (England) has conducted in each year since the LiveChat! Facility was added.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of business’s (a) awareness of and (b) satisfaction with the Business Support Helpline (England).

Kevin Hollinrake: The Business Support Helpline for England (originally called the Business Link Helpline) launched in September 2011. The webchat service began on 7 July 2014. A table with annual telephone call and webchat volumes is attached for reference. The Business Support Helpline regularly tracks customer satisfaction with the service. According to the latest data collected in 2022, the proportion of customers satisfied with the service ranged from 93% for straightforward queries to 97% for longer discussions. Of surveyed businesses that had not used the Business Support Helpline, 51% were aware of it according to an evaluation published in 2014. YearCallsWeb chats2011*338660201256159020133580902014311231254**201537455361920163237943712017262204307201824944383820192390362622020825371198420212726985152022187935377 *From September 2011 to end of March 2012.**Webchat service offered from 7 July 2014.

Energy Bill Relief Scheme

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Energy Bill Relief Scheme beyond 31 March 2023.

Graham Stuart: The HM Treasury review into the Energy Bill Relief Scheme has announced that a new energy scheme for businesses, charities, and the public sector will run from April 2023 until March 2024. The Energy Bill Discount Scheme strikes a balance between supporting businesses and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets, with a cap set at £5.5 billion.

Wood-burning Stoves

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to trends in the level of the cost of heating homes, what assessment he has made of likelihood of an increase in the uptake of log burning technology to heat households; and whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Health on the impact of log burning within the home on health.

Graham Stuart: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not made an assessment of the likelihood of an increase in the uptake of log burning technology to heat households.

Energy Bill Relief Scheme: Students

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure students living in (a) halls of residence and (b) other properties supplied via non-domestic energy suppliers receive support under the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Graham Stuart: Students in purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) have energy costs covered in their fees which are set on an annual basis. The purpose of the EBSS is to support individuals facing increased energy costs this winter, and as such students in PBSA will not be eligible for the EBSS Alternative Funding. Eligible individuals in other properties supplied via a non-domestic energy supply will be able to apply for the EBSS Alternative Funding payment by submitting a short online form via the GOV.UK webpage which opens later in January and which will outline further eligibility details.

Fuel Poverty: Birmingham

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of care recipients who are in fuel poverty in Birmingham.

Graham Stuart: The overall fuel poverty statistics for England include a breakdown by household tenure which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics. It is not possible to identify if households are living in care accommodation. BEIS also publishes annual headline estimates on the number and percentage of households in fuel poverty for England at sub-regional level, and at subnational level including by Region, by Local Authority and by Parliamentary Constituency, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-sub-regional-statistics.

Research: International Cooperation

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help increase international research partnerships.

George Freeman: In December I announced the launch of the first phase of the new International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF), underpinned by £119 million of funding.ISPF will support and fund UK scientists and innovators to work with peers around the world on some of the most pressing issues facing our world.

Community Development: Renewable Energy

Sir Jeremy Wright: What recent steps he has taken to support the development of community energy projects.

Graham Stuart: Ofgem supports community energy projects and welcomes applications from the sector to the Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme. The Government is also helping local authorities and community energy groups to work together to develop projects within UK Growth Funding schemes.

Research

James Sunderland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support the UK’s research and development sector.

George Freeman: At the 2022 Autumn Statement, the Government reaffirmed the 2021 Spending Review pledge to increase public expenditure on R&D to £20 billion per annum by 2024/2025. This represents a cash increase of around a third compared to 21/22 and is the largest ever increase over an SR period.

Public Sector: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Dame Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of guidance for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions in the public sector.

George Freeman: There is detailed guidance available on public sector emissions measurement and reporting, as set out during the recent Public Accounts Committee hearing on this subject. Overall, the public sector has reduced its emissions by 44% between 1990 and 2020. The Government will provide a full response to the Public Accounts Committee report shortly.

Electric Cables: East of England

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to make a decision on development consent for the East Anglia Green Energy Enablement project.

Graham Stuart: No planning application has yet been made, so I cannot answer that directly. We are working flat out to minimise the impacts of network infrastructure on my Rt hon Friend’s constituents, and I pay tribute to her for championing their interests so assiduously.

Energy Bills Rebate: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that vulnerable households in Northern Ireland receive energy support payments.

Graham Stuart: Households are receiving a £600 payment in January. This is comprised of £400 under the Energy Bills Support Scheme Northern Ireland, and £200 of support under the Alternative Fuel Payment. Households also continue to benefit from the Energy Price Guarantee which means that tariffs in Nothern Ireland are 30% cheaper than in the Republic of Ireland and are 20% cheaper than (EPG-subsidised) tariffs in Great Britain. Further support in direct payments is also being provided to vulnerable households this year, including cost of living payments for pensioners, people receiving disability-related allowances and those on means-tested benefits.

Energy: Disconnections

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of self-disconnection of prepayment meters.

George Freeman: Ofgem rules require suppliers to proactively identify and provide support to those that are self-disconnecting. My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State is writing to suppliers to stress the importance that the rules are followed and will publish his letter. There is also immediate financial support, including the Energy Price Guarantee and Energy Bills Support Scheme.

New Businesses

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the creation of businesses.

Kevin Hollinrake: We are encouraging the creation of businesses through the Start Up Loan scheme which provides loans and mentoring support to new entrepreneurs, as well as through our network of 38 Growth Hubs across England which provide access to information and advice on starting a business.

Ukraine: Generators

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many diesel generators the Government has supplied to Ukraine in the last three months.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy provided a total of 856 generators to Ukraine over the course of 2022. 569 of these Generators arrived in Ukraine in May 2022, and the additional 287 generators arrived in Ukraine by end of November 2022.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Remote Working

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of their Department’s employees work from home at least one day a week.

Kevin Hollinrake: Over the past two years, the Civil Service as a whole has had to work in a more agile way whilst still delivering essential public services. Before the pandemic, most departments worked on a basis of a ratio of desks to staff and that remains the case – so hybrid working arrangements are not new. No office will operate at 100% occupancy given there will always be a number of reasons why staff may be out of the office, for example people being on annual leave, attending meetings off site or external visits. Data on the Department’s occupancy are published: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-headquarters-occupancy-data. Like most departments, in line with the practice in many public and private sector organisations, BEIS operates hybrid working arrangements where employees are expected to attend the office for at least 40%-60% of their time.

Energy Bills Rebate: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he plans to take to ensure that tenants in Northern Ireland receive the £600 energy rebate from landlords.

Graham Stuart: The Government has introduced regulations to ensure that intermediaries, including landlords, pass on the Energy Bill Support Scheme and Alternative Fuel Payment Northern Ireland benefit to end users in a just and reasonable way. These regulations came into force on 12 January 2023. The regulations are available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/10/contents/made. The Government has also issued guidance available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pass-through-requirements-for-energy-price-support-provided-to-intermediaries/guidance-on-the-pass-through-requirements-for-energy-price-support-in-great-britain-provided-to-intermediaries.

Natural Gas

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK’s gas supply for the rest of the winter; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: The Government remains confident in its plans to protect households and businesses in the full range of scenarios this winter. The cold snap in December demonstrated the resilience of UK energy supply. Gas was well-supplied and the markets responded effectively. The Government works closely with Ofgem and National Grid to ensure system operators have the right tools to respond to fluctuations in supply and demand. Britain has a strategic advantage through access to North Sea gas reserves, steady imports from partners like Norway, the second largest Liquefied Natural Gas port infrastructure in Europe and investment in renewables.

Supply Chains: Environment Protection and Human Rights

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government will take to hold to account companies that fail to prevent human rights and environmental abuse in their supply chains.

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will make it his policy to bring forward legislative proposals on requiring UK companies to prevent abuse and environmental destruction in their overseas supply chains and operations.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government expects all businesses in the UK to respect human rights and the environment throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles and the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises. The Modern Slavery Act requires businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more, to set out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. Financial penalties will be introduced through primary legislation, when parliamentary time allows, to increase compliance. We have also introduced world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains.

Energy Bills Rebate

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason people receive less funding under the Energy Bills Support Scheme than people who have a direct relationship with their energy supplier.

Graham Stuart: Households in Great Britain that have a direct relationship with their electricity supplier are receiving a £400 non-repayable payment in six instalments under the Energy Bills Support Scheme as part of the £37bn cost-of-living assistance package announced in May 2022. The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF), which covers households in Great Britain that do not have a direct relationship with their electricity supplier, will provide equivalent support of £400 payable in a single instalment. The EBSS AF will launch later this month.

Energy Bills Rebate: Internet

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to open the online application portal for Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding; and whether he plans to offer back payments to match funding provided by other energy support schemes which have made direct payments to individuals.

Graham Stuart: The application portal for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding is due to open in January 2023. Once customers have applied to receive support and their applications have been processed and verified, eligible customers’ details will be shared with Local Authorities across England, Scotland and Wales. Local Authorities will deliver the one-off, non-repayable £400 of support in a single instalment.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Waste

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many tonnes of food waste were produced from his Departmental estate in financial year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 up to the end of December 2022.

Kevin Hollinrake: In line with the Greening Government Commitments (GGCs) the Department has committed to measure and report on food waste, for estates with over 50 FTE (full time equivalent staff) and/or over 500m2 floor area offering a food serviceThe requested information for 2021-2022 will be published in the GGCs Annual Report for 2021-2022, due later this year. The data for 1 April 2022 to 31 December 2022 will be published in the Annual Report covering 2022-2023GGCs annual reporting is delayed due to Covid-19 impacts, but the Government remains committed to reducing the environmental impact of its estate and operationsEstablished in 2010, the GGCs set out the actions that government will take to improve the environmental impact of the government estate and its operations. They demonstrate how the UK government is leading by example and working to improve the environmental performance of its own estate and operations, in line with the Defra (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) 25 Year Environment Plan commitments to improve the environment within a generation.Since inception of the GGCs, the Government has halved its greenhouse gas emissions and waste, in addition to making many other efficiencies. Progress against the commitments is published in GGCs annual reports.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department spent on purchasing goods and services with a value of less than £500 on a Government procurement card in 2021; and how many purchases with a value of less than £500 his Department made on a Government procurement card in 2021.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Department only has the value by financial year, BEIS spent £248k in 2020/21 on purchasing goods and services with a value of less than £500 on a government procurement card. The total amount was made up of 2,965 transactions however one transaction may contain number of purchases. To identify individual purchase items can only be obtained disproportionally.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department’s publication of spending over £500 with a Government procurement card, for what taxi services was Addison Lee paid £3,700.57 on 5 March 2021; and for what reason  those services were required by his Department.

Kevin Hollinrake: The travel was provided for staff working early or late shifts on emergency response work during the pandemic. Taxis were provided for travel into the office due to the unusual hours involved and the Covid19 restrictions affecting public transport in place at the time.

Energy: Meters

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure energy providers consider the personal circumstances of customers prior to switching them on to a prepayment (a) tariffs and (b) meters.

Graham Stuart: Ofgem has rules in place that restrict the force-fitting of a prepayment meter on customers who are in debt, except as a last resort. This includes considerations of whether a consumer’s vulnerability makes a prepayment meter a poor choice, for example where medical equipment is required, there is a child under five, or someone in the household has a disability. Suppliers are required to follow specific processes before switching a customer to a prepayment tariff or meter, which are monitored by Ofgem.

Energy: Meters

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the Citizens Advice Report Kept in the dark - The urgent need for action on prepayment meters.

Graham Stuart: There are strict Ofgem rules in place to protect prepayment meter customers. Installing prepayment meters without consent to recover debt must be a last resort. If suppliers install a prepayment meter, they must verify that it is safe and reasonably practicable to do so. Ofgem has recently conducted a Market Compliance Review assessing how suppliers support customers in vulnerable situations, including assessing suppliers’ processes for installing prepayment meters. To drive improvements, Ofgem has started compliance engagement with suppliers and required them to take action to address the weaknesses that have been identified. The Government expects suppliers to comply fully with their obligations and welcomes the steps Ofgem is taking.

Electricity (Guarantees of Origin of Electricity Produced from Renewable Energy Sources) Regulations 2003

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, what plans he has to (a) revoke, (b) replace or (c) retain the Electricity (Guarantees of Origin of Electricity Produced from Renewable Energy Sources) Regulations 2003.

Graham Stuart: The regulations provide the legal basis for the Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) scheme. This scheme allows the UK to account for renewable energy on the electricity grid. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy is reviewing all retained EU law in line with usual policy development to determine whether to repeal, replace or preserve it. It is the Government's intention that the REGO scheme will continue to exist in the UK, which will require Government regulation.

Iron and Steel: Employment

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will estimate how many people were employed in (a) steel production and (b) the steel production supply chain in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2010.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the number of people employed in (a) steel production and (b) the steel production supply chain in (i) 2015, (ii) 2020 and (iii) 2022.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: In 2007, an estimated total of 34,700 people were employed in the manufacture of basic iron and steel. This supported an estimated 43,700 jobs across the upstream supply chain. In 2010, an estimated total of 30,200 people were employed in the manufacture of basic iron and steel. This supported an estimated 38,000 jobs across the upstream supply chain. In 2015, an estimated total of 32,000 people were employed in the manufacture of basic iron and steel. This supported an estimated 40,300 jobs across the upstream supply chain. In 2020, an estimated total of 33,700 people were employed in the manufacture of basic iron and steel. This supported an estimated 42,500 jobs across the upstream supply chain. Data for 1997 is not available and data for 2022 has not yet been released.

Iron and Steel: Carbon Emissions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing carbon costs for the steel sector on carbon leakage.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: UK Emissions Trading Scheme industrial participants, such as steel sector businesses, are provided with free allocations of emissions. This reduces exposure to carbon prices and mitigates the risk of carbon leakage. In 2021, they were worth over £2bn. Free allocations are guaranteed at current levels until 2026. The review into free allocation policy will continue into 2023 and will include consulting on changes to the calculations of free allocations post-2026. We are committed to consulting on carbon leakage mitigations this spring including measures such as product standards, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and policies to grow the market for low emissions industrial products.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support households who no longer receive the Warm Home Discount because they are not above the new high-energy-cost-threshold.

Graham Stuart: The Government has expanded the Warm Home Discount scheme this year, providing £150 rebates to over 3 million households, an increase of 800,000. Energy suppliers can provide additional support to households through the Industry Initiatives element of the scheme, including financial assistance. This support can be provided irrespective of whether a household is eligible for a rebate. The Government is providing additional financial assistance this and next winter, including through the Energy Price Guarantee, Energy Bill Support Scheme and the Cost of Living Payments. The Government is developing a new approach to consumer protection in relation to energy, which will apply from April 2024 onwards.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes in the eligibility criteria for the Warm Home Discount Scheme on households that are no longer eligible in the 2022-23 scheme year.

Graham Stuart: The Government has expanded the Warm Home Discount scheme this year, providing £150 rebates to over 3 million households. The Government published impact assessments when consulting and publishing the Government’s response, which compared the option for reforming the scheme to continuing the previous scheme. Households previously applied through their suppliers. Suppliers set their own application process and eligibility criteria and selected successful applicants each year. Therefore the Government has not been able to assess how many previous eligible households are no longer eligible for the Scheme.

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Low Incomes

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, of the potential merits of providing increased support to people on low incomes who are not eligible for the Warm Homes Discount as a result of their property or accommodation not meeting the required energy cost score.

Graham Stuart: The Government has expanded the Warm Home Discount scheme this year, providing the £150 rebate to over 3 million households, an increase of 800,000. Energy suppliers can also provide additional support to households through the Industry Initiatives portion of the scheme, through measures such as financial assistance, debt write-off, benefit entitlement checks, energy advice and energy efficiency. This support can be provided to households, irrespective of whether they are eligible for a rebate. The scheme comes on top of additional support the Government is providing this winter and next winter, including through the Energy Price Guarantee and Cost of Living Payments.

Members: Correspondence

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he will respond to the correspondence of 14 November 2022 from the hon. Member for Glasgow North East.

Kevin Hollinrake: My noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Corporate Responsibility, Lord Callanan, wrote to the hon. Member on 11 January about Green Deal mis-selling.

Energy Bills Rebate

Naz Shah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people who do not have a direct relationship with an energy supplier benefit from the Energy Support Scheme.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding will provide support of £400 for energy bills for around 900,000 households without a domestic electricity supply. Those eligible for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding will need to submit a short online form via the Government’s GOV.UK pages, with the application portal due to open this month.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Remote Working

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of their Department’s employees work from home at least one day a week.

Mr Steve Baker: The Northern Ireland Office offers hybrid working arrangements where possible with a suggested office attendance of 2-3 days per week. This is dependent on the role of each individual, some working more in the office than others. The majority of staff are able to work one day a week from home. Given the department’s location across two sites, hybrid working is the norm for our officials. Over the past two years, the Civil Service as a whole has had to work in a more agile way whilst still delivering essential public services. Before the pandemic, most departments worked on a basis of a ratio of desks to staff and that remains the case – so hybrid working arrangements are not new. No office will operate at 100% occupancy given there will always be a number of reasons why staff may be out of the office, for example people being on annual leave, attending meetings off site or external visits.

Department of Health and Social Care

Health Services

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there are patient representatives on the boards of integrated care boards and on primary care, commissioning and assurance committees; and if he will make a statement.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Mental Health Services: Hospital Beds

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2022 to Question 96635 on Mental Health Services: Hospital Beds and with reference to the Answer of 17 June 2021 to Question 11615 on Mental Health Services: Hospital Beds, for what reason information could be provided to Question 11615 and not Question 96635; and how many mental health beds there were in 2021-22.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of repurposing temporary vaccination centres to deliver permanent NHS services.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with relevant stakeholders on the potential removal of the covid-19 vaccination facility at Askham Bar in York, in the context of Nimbuscare requiring that site for the provision of services; what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of removing that site from the current provider and installing a replacement site for a new provider; and if he will take steps to prevent this.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Aripiprazole

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the supply of Aripiprazole.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Services and Social Services: Expenditure

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of GDP was spent on health and social care in each year since 2010.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the supply of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors.

Will Quince: There are a wide range of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) licensed and marketed for use in the United Kingdom. We are aware of supply issues with two SSRIs. However, alternative forms of those products remain available.

NHS: Waiting Lists

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Prime Minister's speech on 4 January 2023 entitled building a better future, whether he plans to publish a strategy on reducing NHS waiting lists.

Will Quince: The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ published in February 2022 sets out the action that will be taken and is already underway to support the healthcare system in England as it recovers from the disruption caused by the pandemic and to deliver the necessary reforms that are important to its long-term future. Tacking elective care is a top delivery priority for the Government and regular updates from the National Health Service, via NHS England, to the Secretary of State are the key mechanism used to assess progress against ambitious elective recovery targets. The Department will continue to work closely with NHS England to deliver this plan, providing the necessary support and challenge to make sure it benefits patients and delivers value for money.

Dental Services: Out of Area Treatment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider the potential merits of funding the transport costs of pregnant women who need to travel to access NHS dental care outside their local area.

Neil O'Brien: There are no current plans to do so. Where a pregnant woman is unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through a local National Health Service dental practice, they are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance. In September 2022, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’ which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care, including for vulnerable people and pregnant women, whilst making the NHS dental contract more attractive to dental practices. These changes have been implemented, including through regulations that came into effect on 25 November 2022. Discussions on further improvements to the NHS dental system are underway and being led by NHS England, involving the British Dental Association, other dental stakeholder groups and patients.

Dental Services: Medical Records

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) provide dentists greater access to necessary patient medical information and (b) allow dental hospitals to access the NHS Spine administrative system.

Neil O'Brien: We are currently discussing giving dentistry care settings access to Summary Care Records (SCR). SCR are an electronic record of important patient information, created from general practice medical records. They can be seen and used by authorised staff in other areas of the health and care system involved in the patient's direct care.An active proof of concept is currently being piloted in a small number of Dentistry organisations, including giving access to the Spine administrative system. This is not yet approved for further rollout, but may expand to further dentistry organisations in the coming months as they continue to communicate further interest to accessing SCR.

Dental Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish guidance on how responsibility for commissioning dental services will transfer from NHS England to integrated care boards.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England is responsible for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population. Many of these functions will transfer to integrated care boards (ICBs) from April 2023, who will work with commissioners and providers. NHS England’s assurance framework has been developed to support ICBs with the transfer of commissioning responsibilities, including National Health Service dentistry.

Dental Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2022 to Question 105403 on Dental Services, what steps he is taking to help integrated care boards commission dental services in areas with limited access to dental care; and what steps he plans to take to give integrated care boards scope to (a) attract dentists and (b) commissions training places in areas with limited access to dental care.

Neil O'Brien: The Government has committed to publishing a workforce plan next year, which will include independently verified forecasts for the number of healthcare professionals required in future years, taking account of improvements in retention and productivity. This will include dental care professionals. In September 2022, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care in all areas. These changes will improve access to National Health Service dentistry care whilst making the NHS dental contract more attractive to dentists and dental practices. We have implemented these changes, including through regulations that came into effect on 25 November 2022.

Social Services: Children

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much capital funding has been made available for children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences in (a) Feltham and Heston constituency, (b) Greater London and (c) England and Wales.

Neil O'Brien: The information requested is not held centrally.

Tobacco

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November to Question 64287 on Tobacco, when he plans to publish the Tobacco Control Plan.

Neil O'Brien: We are still considering the recommendations made in ‘The Khan review: making smoking obsolete’ and further information will be available in due course.

Smoking: Regulation

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 6 December 2022 from the Minister for Primary Care and Public Health to Topical Question 4, Official Report, column 202, what steps he plans to take to help reduce the prevalence of smoking in England; and how those plans will affect the use of (a) e-cigarettes, (b) heat-not-burn, (c) snus, and (d) other reduced risk products.

Neil O'Brien: Smoking rates are the lowest on record, currently at 13%. These reductions have been achieved through investment in multi-modal interventions, a strong regulatory framework, effective quit campaigns and funding to local authority stop smoking services. The most effective way to quit smoking is through behavioural support from stop smoking services, alongside a nicotine substituting product, such as a vape (e-cigarette). We recently published the Nicotine Vaping in England Report which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nicotine-vaping-in-england-2022-evidence-update The Government encourages users to quit all forms of tobacco and therefore does not recommend the use of heated tobacco products. Snus is banned in the United Kingdom and we have no plans to introduce additional tobacco products to the market as we have safer nicotine delivery products currently available for smokers to switch to.

Dental Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps with integrated care boards to ensure that all (a) children, (b) older people, (c) people on low incomes, (d) vulnerable people and (e) pregnant women are able to access dental services.

Neil O'Brien: Many of the dentistry commissioning functions undertaken by NHS England will transfer to integrated care boards (ICBs) from April 2023. ICBs will be responsible for meeting the needs of the local population by working with patient groups, including on access to dental care. NHS England has made available to commissioners an assurance framework to provide assurance that commissioning functions are carried out safely and effectively by ICBs. Where a person is unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through a local National Health Service dental practice, they are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance. Community Dental Services provide NHS dental care to people who cannot be treated in general dental practices. This includes vulnerable people or people in situations or locations that are out of reach. In September 2022, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’ which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care, including for groups such as vulnerable people, whilst making the NHS dental contract more attractive to dental practices. These changes have been implemented, including through regulations that came into effect on 25 November 2022. Discussions on further improvements to the NHS dental system are underway and being led by NHS England, involving the British Dental Association, other dental stakeholder groups and patients.

Tobacco: Health Hazards

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to implement Tobacco harm reduction strategies.

Neil O'Brien: The Government supports National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on smoking cessation and harm reduction. NICE recommend that smokers quit smoking in one go but have also published guidance for providers of stop smoking services to support smokers who wish to take a harm reduction approach. The guidance is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng209/chapter/recommendations-on-treating-tobacco-dependence#supporting-people-who-do-not-want-or-are-not-ready-to-stop-smoking-in-one-go-to-reduce-their-harm. The Government has no current plans to implement further tobacco harm reduction strategies.

Watford Hospital

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he received representations from NHS staff at Watford General Hospital on the potential requirement for a new hospital during his visit on 6 January 2023.

Will Quince: The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care discussed a range of topics with National Health Service staff relating to health and social care on his visit to Watford General Hospital on 6 January. This included on plans for the new hospital scheme for West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Hospitals: Construction

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what sites have (a) secured land and (b) planning permission under the New Hospital Programme as of 4 January 2022.

Will Quince: As of 4 January 2023, within the New Hospital Programme, 20 schemes have received either full or outline planning permission and 27 have secured land including schemes which are on an existing site. The following table shows the scheme, planning permission status and land secured for the New Hospital Programme. Scheme namePlanning permission statusLand securedMoorfieldsFull planning permission approvedYesMidland Metropolitan University Hospital (in construction)Full planning permission approvedYesNorthern Centre for Cancer Care (completed)Full planning permission approvedYesNorthgate Hospital (in construction)Full planning permission approvedYesRoyal Liverpool University Hospital (completed)Full planning permission approvedYesSalford Royal – Greater Manchester Major Trauma Hospital (in construction)Full planning permission approvedYesRoyal Sussex County Hospital – Brighton Trauma, Tertiary and Training (3Ts) (in construction)Full planning permission approvedYesDyson Cancer Centre (Royal United Bath Hospital) (in construction)Full planning permission approvedYesCambridge Cancer Research HospitalOutline planning permission awaiting approvalYes, existing siteNational Rehabilitation CentreFull planning permission approvedLease on new site in negotiationShotley Bridge Community HospitalOutline planning permission approvedLease on new site in negotiationWomen and Children’s Hospital, CornwallOutline planning permission approvedYes, existing siteDorset County Hospital (Dorchester)Awaiting outline planning application outcomeYes, existing siteDerriford Emergency Care HospitalFull planning permission approvedYes, existing siteDorset – Christchurch HospitalOutline planning permission approvedYes, existing siteDorset – St Ann’s HospitalOutline planning permission approvedYes, existing siteDorset – Bournemouth HospitalOutline planning permission approvedYes, existing siteDorset – Poole HospitalOutline planning permission approvedYes, existing siteWatford General, Hemel Hempstead and St Alban’s City HospitalsOutline planning permission approved for Hemel Hempstead and St Alban’s City HospitalsYes, existing site. Small plot of land required subject to business case.Leeds General InfirmaryOutline planning permission approvedYes, existing siteNorth Manchester General HospitalStrategic Redevelopment Framework in placeYes, existing siteEpsom Hospital and St Helier HospitalsNo planning permission in placeYes, existing siteWhipps Cross University HospitalOutline planning permission in place and full planning permission for multi storey car parkYes, existing siteHillingdon HospitalNo planning permission in placeYes, existing siteLeicester General Hospital, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Glenfield HospitalNo planning permission in placeYes, existing siteWest Suffolk HospitalOutline planning permission approvedYes, adjacent to existing siteMilton Keynes HospitalNot approved yetYes, existing siteCharing Cross and Hammersmith Hospitals, ImperialNo planning permission in placeYes, existing siteSt Mary’s Hospital, ImperialNo planning permission in placeYes, existing site Requirements for planning permission and securing of land will be dependent on when the schemes will progress as part of the New Hospital Programme, and we will continue to support trusts with their planning applications and securing of land as and when required.

Whipps Cross Hospital: Repairs and Maintenance

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons his Department has not made a decision on the scheme-specific business case for the redevelopment of Whipps Cross Hospital.

Will Quince: Whipps Cross Hospital is one of the Pathfinder schemes within the New Hospital Programme, these will be the first of the larger and more complex schemes to be taken forward. Decisions on specific business cases for schemes which are expected to commence after 2025 are dependent on the approval of the programme wide business case.The New Hospital Programme continues to work closely with Barts Health NHS Trust to develop their new hospital scheme at Whipps Cross Hospital in line with the national programme approach to standardisation which will reduce end to end delivery timescales for individual schemes. The national approach will ensure efficient delivery of the new hospitals and provide value for money so that patients and staff have access to world class facilities.

NHS England: Databases

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make the NHS England's System Control Centre data live and publicly accessible.

Will Quince: There are no current plans to do so. NHS England publishes a range of data on National Health Service pressures during the winter period through its Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Reports.

Hospitals: Buildings

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2023 to Question 103051 on Hospitals: Buildings, if he will list the hospital trusts which own the 284 hospital buildings.

Will Quince: A list of the hospital trusts which own buildings built before 1948 is attached.Hospital trusts owning buildings built before 1948 (xlsx, 17.9KB)

Department of Health and Social Care: Paper

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many reams of A4 paper were purchased by his Department in Financial Year (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, and (c) 2021-22.

Will Quince: The Department is committed to the Greening Government Commitments target of reducing Government’s paper use by at least 50% from a 2017 to 2018 baseline.

NHS

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether further meetings of the NHS Recovery Forum have been scheduled following its initial meeting on 7 January 2023.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a list of those who attended the NHS Recovery Forum meeting at Downing Street on Saturday 7 January 2023.

Will Quince: Ministers routinely meet a range of National Health Service, social care leaders and outside experts, on matters of NHS and care policy delivery. Those present on Saturday 7 January included chief executives and clinical leaders from NHS organisations, local areas and councils from across the country, clinical experts from Royal Colleges and independent sector organisations working with health and social care services to deliver services for patients. We provide quarterly returns to Cabinet Office around meetings with external stakeholders.

Department of Health and Social Care: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2022 to Question 107066, how many purchases with a value less than £500 were made against his Department’s budget through a Government procurement card in 2021.

Will Quince: There were 1027 purchases with a value of less than £500 in 2021.

Department of Health and Social Care: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for December 2021, for attendance at which event did his Department pay Revolution Events Ltd. £4,627.80 on 22 December 2021; and at which hotel was accommodation booked for staff attending that event.

Will Quince: The event attended was the International Records Management Society Conference between 15 to 17 May 2021. The hotel was the DoubleTree by Hilton in Glasgow.

Department of Health and Social Care: Remote Working

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of their Department’s employees work from home at least one day a week.

Will Quince: Current data on office occupancy across the Civil Service is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-headquarters-occupancy-data There is no data collected on the proportion of departmental civil servants who are working from home. Decisions about workforce and working arrangements are delegated to individual departments. We have set an expectation of working eight days in the office per month. Days are agreed across teams and we have a desk booking system to help monitor office capacity. Over the past two years, the Civil Service as a whole has had to work in a more agile way whilst still delivering essential public services. Before the pandemic, most departments worked on a basis of a ratio of desks to staff and that remains the case, therefore hybrid working arrangements are not new.

Infant Foods: EU Law

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, what plans they have to (a) revoke, (b) replace or (c) retain the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/127.

Neil O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 December 2022 to Question 105306.

HIV Infection: Mental Health Services

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help Sustainable Transformation Partnerships and Integrated Care Systems (a) integrate and (b) improve mental health services for patients with HIV.

Neil O'Brien: As set out in the NHS England roadmap, specialised human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) inpatient and outpatient services have been identified as key areas for greater integrated care systems (ICS) leadership by NHS England and integrated care boards (ICBs). Integrating the commissioning of HIV treatment services with ICBs, will allow local systems to simplify and strengthen HIV care pathways with other services through effective local partnerships, including psychosocial support and mental health services, for a more holistic approach to care. The national service specification for adult HIV services is also currently under review and development by a specification working group, with the oversight of the HIV Clinical Reference Group. The specification working group will ensure that the revised specification reflects any changes in practice since 2013, ensures close working with other relevant services, and is fit for purpose in the new commissioning landscape. The HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group meeting on the 16 January will also focus on implementation and coordination at local and subregional level to support a stronger HIV response. This will include consideration of ways in which Sustainable and transformation partnerships and ICS can support a more robust HIV response, including strengthening links with other services such as mental health services.

Food: Advertising

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons he has delayed the implementation of the TV and online unhealthy food advertising restrictions to October 2025.

Neil O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Leeds North West on 10 January 2023 to Question 114808.

Dentistry: Work Experience

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of ensuring undergraduate dental students are able to gain experience in local practises.

Neil O'Brien: It is for each dental school to set its own undergraduate dental curriculum, which must meet the standards set by the General Dental Council (GDC) that require students to demonstrate a particular range of learning outcomes when they have completed their programme of studies. It would be for each dental school to consider the merits of training in local practices and hospital settings.From 1 September 2022, the Government introduced the undergraduate dental tariff, to ensure that clinical placement providers are reimbursed consistently for the training placements they provide, that placements are high quality, and ensure that learners develop the required skills and knowledge to meet their professional competencies.

Pancreas: Medical Equipment

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing artificial pancreas technology on the NHS to all people with type one diabetes.

Will Quince: NHS England completed a pilot for hybrid closed loop technology for patients with type 1 diabetes last year. The findings have been with the National Institute for Health Care Excellence (NICE). NICE’s role is to produce guidance on good practice, based on the best available evidence of both clinical and cost effectiveness. Responsibility for the delivery of services and the implementation of NICE recommendations rests with the appropriate integrated care board (ICB). ICBs must pay due regard to NICE guidance however local decision making applies in terms of deciding the extent to which they utilise their funding to implement the recommendation or not.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken recent steps to provide additional funding for (a) sexual health services and (b) sexual health risk reduction (i) advice and (ii) interventions available (A) face-to-face and (B) online.

Neil O'Brien: In 2022/23, we have allocated more than £3.4 billion to local authorities in England to fund public health services, including sexual health services, through the Public Health Grant. We will announce the 2023/24 Public Health Grant allocations to local authorities in due course.Local authorities are responsible for commissioning comprehensive, open access sexual health services to meet local demand and these include online and face to face provision of advice and interventions. Individual local authorities decide on spending priorities based on an assessment of local need for sexual health services and the blend of service access that best suits their population.

Hyperactivity: Mental Health Services

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of waiting times for ADHD diagnostic appointments.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to improve the provision of care for people diagnosed with ADHD.

Maria Caulfield: It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including people diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We are supporting ICBs to expand mental health services through the NHS Long Term Plan, which commits to increasing investment into mental health services by at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 so that an additional two million people can get the support they need.With respect to assessments and diagnosis for ADHD, ICBs and National Health Service trusts should have due regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline NG87: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management. This NICE guideline aims to improve the diagnosis of ADHD and the quality of care and support that people receive. The NICE guideline does not recommend a maximum waiting time standard from referral for an assessment of ADHD or from assessment to the point of diagnosis. Consultant-led mental health services are covered by the NHS 18 week maximum waiting time.No specific assessment has been made nationally regarding adequacy of waiting times for ADHD diagnostic appointments. Assessments for and diagnosis of ADHD may be undertaken in a variety of care settings and there is currently no single established dataset to monitor this nationally. NHS Digital is working to improve the quality of relevant datasets, such as the Mental Health Services Dataset and the Community Services dataset.

IVF

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to maintain current levels of IVF provision when CCGs are transitioned into Integrated Care Systems; and what steps his Department is taking to work with the NHS to achieve that end.

Maria Caulfield: We expect integrated care boards to make funding decisions for health services based on the clinical needs of their local population and to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines to ensure equal access to fertility treatment across England.NICE is currently reviewing its fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to National Health Service funded treatment and preservation are still appropriate. We expect that this review will be published in 2024.The Women’s Health Strategy, published on 20 July 2022, contained a number of important changes and future ambitions to improve the variations in access to NHS funded fertility services. We continue to work with NHS England on this and we will update shortly on our priorities for implementation.

Department for Education

Physical Education and Sports

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increasing focus on academic performance in education settings on levels of participation in sport and physical exercise in those settings.

Nick Gibb: Schools are free to organise and deliver a flexible, diverse, and challenging curriculum and extra-curricular provision that suits the needs of their pupils. The Department believes that PE and sport is an important part of a broad and balanced curriculum and has made it compulsory at all four Key Stages in the National Curriculum.Evidence suggests that participation in sport and physical activity can be an important factor in supporting academic attainment, mental wellbeing, and personal development. Many schools already provide a minimum of two hours of PE and sport to pupils each week. The Department will look at how to support all schools to do so, supplemented by a good range of extra-curricular opportunities.

Children: Poverty

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of child poverty on educational attainment.

Nick Gibb: The Department has evaluated the impact of poverty on educational outcomes. Evidence shows that disadvantaged pupils and those with additional needs are more likely to fall behind and need extra support to reach their full potential. That is why the Department has a range of support in place to support pupils and schools.Overall, core schools funding, including funding for both mainstream schools and high needs, is increasing by £4 billion in 2022/23 compared to the previous year. In 2022/23, the Department will be allocating approximately £2,000 per pupil, for all pupils who have been eligible for free school meals (FSM) at any point in the last six years, through the National Funding Formula, the Pupil Premium and the 2022/23 School Supplementary Grant. The Pupil Premium enables schools to provide extra support for disadvantaged pupils to improve their academic and personal achievements.Raising attainment for pupils is at the heart of this government’s agenda. Reforms to support schools and drive improved attainment were set out in the Schools White Paper. This includes the National Tutoring Programme, which is helping those pupils that need it access additional targeted support, including those who have been hardest hit by disruption to their education as a result of the pandemic. To support teachers, the Oak National Academy has been established as a public body, which will provide free, optional, adaptable digital curriculum resources, including in English and mathematics.In addition, the Department is providing funding to 24 Priority Education Investment Areas (PEIA), helping drive the attainment of all children across the area. In each of the 24 PEIAs, the Department will offer further investment in addition to the significant support available to all EIAs. PEIAs will receive a share of around £40 million of funding to address local needs, and priority access to a number of other programmes offered by the Department.

Schools: Recreation Spaces

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of access to school (a) playgrounds, (b) playing fields and (c) play areas for children with disabilities; and what steps she is taking to increase that access.

Claire Coutinho: The department does not collect information on the adequacy of access to school playgrounds, school playing fields, or school play areas for children with disabilities. The department has published area guidelines for schools in Building Bulletin 103, and specific guidance for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) schools and alternative provision (AP) sites in Building Bulletin 104. These documents include guidance and expectations around size, type, and design of outdoor PE space, informal and social areas, and the use of habitat areas.Schools must also comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010. This includes making reasonable adjustments and carrying out accessibility planning for disabled pupils. Schools must prepare and implement accessibility plans, which should include plans for improving the physical environment of schools to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities, and services provided. Ofsted may review a school’s accessibility plan as part of school inspections.In March 2022, the department announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment. This funding is to support local authorities to deliver new places for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years, and to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing provision for children and young people with SEND or who require AP.It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their funding to address their local priorities, including improving the accessibility of school play areas. Local authorities can work with any school in their local area to do so.

Higher Education: Admissions

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to put in place safeguards to help ensure artificial intelligence software does not undermine the fairness of the application cycle for higher education courses.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to issue guidance to schools and sixth forms on the use of artificial intelligence software in admissions for higher education courses.

Robert Halfon: The government is mindful of the rapid technological change in this area. The Office for Artificial Intelligence (AI) is developing an agile and adaptable regulatory framework for AI, which will use a test-and-learn approach to ensure their regulatory approach remains flexible and relevant.The department works with the Office for AI and all those involved in the higher education (HE) admissions system to ensure that it remains fair, as well as to build an understanding of the potential risks posed to admissions by assistive tools such as Chat GPT and other forms of AI software.The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) maintains confidence in the HE admissions system. One element of this is the operation of a dedicated verification team tasked with the prevention and detection of fraud in applications and similarity in personal statements.UCAS has a responsibility to applicants, HE providers, and stakeholders to screen applications for false, missing and/or misleading information, check personal statements for patterns of similarity, and to report their findings in accordance with established processes. UCAS’ aim is to avoid anyone gaining from an unfair advantage and securing a place in a HE by deception.

Further Education: Per Capita Costs

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the further education spend per student was in each of the last 10 years.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse per student in further education was in each of the last ten years.

Robert Halfon: Since the 2020/21 academic year, the department has made significant increases in funding per student for 16 to 19-year-old education. The 2021 Spending Review made available an extra £1.6 billion for 16 to 19 education in 2024/25 compared with financial year 2021/22.The department announced on 9 January 2023 that we will make further increases in rates in the 2023/24 academic year. These increases mean that in the 2023/24 financial year, we will invest a further £125 million in 16 to 19 education.The table below uses the published 16 to 19 funding allocations to derive the average funding per student, from 2014/15 and the subsequent eight academic years. This includes all 16 to 19 funded students including those in further education colleges, school sixth forms, and other types of providers. The figures are not available for 2013/14. Academic YearAverage total programme funding per student[1]2014/15£4,4322015/16£4,4892016/17£4,4882017/18£4,5142018/19£4,5042019/20£4,5162020/21£4,9582021/22£4,9942022/23£5,469[1] This calculation only includes institutions that have students receiving total programme funding. Some institutions receive only high needs funding, their students are not included in this calculation.

Further Education: Ethnic Groups

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) principals and CEOs and (b) senior managers were black, Asian and minority ethnic in each FE college in England on 1 January 2023.

Robert Halfon: The most recent information held by the department is based on the 2018 College Staff survey. The survey found that approximately 9% of principals and CEOs, and 4% of leaders (including senior, middle and junior managers, and governors) are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. Updated data from the current Further Education Workforce Data Collection will be available later this year.

Home Education

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children who are being home educated in (a) Great Yarmouth constituency, (b) Norfolk and (c) England.

Nick Gibb: The Department has recently completed the collection of data on the number of children who are electively home educated. This data is being prepared for publication in due course.Data has been collected at Local Authority level and so data relating to individual constituencies is not held.

Truancy: Fines

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that divorced parents are not fined for unauthorised school absences for which the other parent was responsible.

Nick Gibb: I refer the hon. Member for Coventry North West, to the answer I gave on 15 November 2022 to Question 80916. The Department is currently considering its legislative priorities and will set these out in due course.

Apprentices

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much was (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on traineeship programmes in each year since they were introduced in England.

Robert Halfon: The table below sets out the last three full financial years of data held by the department relating specifically to traineeships budget and spend.Financial YearBudget £ millionSpend £ million2019/2049502020/21159572021/2218962Prior to this, traineeship financial data was incorporated as part of the department’s wider accounting and so specific data relating to Traineeships is currently unavailable.

Department for Education: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 107080 on Department for Education: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, how many purchases with a value less than £500 were made against her Department’s budget through a Government procurement card in 2021.

Nick Gibb: Between 1 January and 31 December 2021, there were 2,277 purchases made that had a value less than £500 by the Department, inclusive of the Executive Agencies (ESFA, TRA, STA, Located & Capital).

Department for Education: Waste

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many tonnes of food waste were produced from her Departmental estate in Financial Year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 up to 31 December 2022.

Nick Gibb: The collection of food waste was introduced on a test basis in the 2021/22 financial year, at the Department for Education’s (DfE) Manchester Piccadilly, London Clive House, and London Sanctuary Building sites. The total food waste collected during this test period was 14.8 tonnes.Food waste data for the 2022/23 financial year, up to 31 December 2022, is being collected from the whole DfE estate. All Greening Government Commitments data is collected retrospectively. As of 10 January 2023, the data requested for the third quarter of the 2022/23 financial year has not been validated. The Department can provide food tonnage data for the whole DfE office estate for the first two quarters of the 2022/23 financial year, and this figure is 10.7 tonnes.

Department for Education: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 in December 2021, for what journey her predecessor required the services of TBR Global Chauffeuring on 22 December 2021.

Nick Gibb: TBR Global Chauffeuring provided transfer services between events within Glasgow when the former Secretary of State attended COP26.

Schools: Inspections

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she will make it her policy to require Ofsted to inspect and monitor the quality of physical education, sport and wellbeing as part of school inspections.

Nick Gibb: Ofsted’s education inspection framework, which took effect in September 2019, expects schools to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all subjects, including PE and sport. When inspectors are making a judgement on the quality of the education of a school, inspectors sample a range of subjects and undertake deep dives. This will include PE and sport for some schools.Where PE and sport is not selected as a deep dive, sport is nevertheless considered through Ofsted’s exploration of pupils’ wider development. Inspectors will evaluate the extent to which the curriculum goes beyond the academic. They will also consider whether pupils know how to keep physically and mentally healthy. Many schools will do this through their extracurricular clubs and wider experiences. Inspectors will consider the provision for the cultural development of pupils, which includes developing their willingness to participate in and respond positively to artistic, musical, sporting, and cultural opportunities. Inspectors will draw all relevant evidence together using their professional judgement to determine the quality of a school.In 2022, Ofsted published its PE and sport research review, which sets out what Ofsted means to improve at PE and sport. Ofsted is currently undertaking research in schools across the country to explore the quality of PE and sport further. Ofsted will publish a report outlining its findings in 2023. The report will detail what schools are doing well and what needs to improve.

Special Educational Needs: Staff

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the SEND review has identified gaps in the specialist workforce.

Claire Coutinho: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The department’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, published in March 2023, recognised that too many families faced difficulties and delay in accessing specialist support for their child and referenced examples where this was particularly acute. The review can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1063620/SEND_review_right_support_right_place_right_time_accessible.pdf.In the review, the Department of Health and Social Care committed to working with the Department for Education, alongside Health Education England and NHS England, to build the evidence base on demand from children and young people with SEND for the therapeutic and diagnostic workforce, to support effective workforce planning. Since the review was published, the department has already taken steps to increase the capacity of the workforce. In late 2022, we announced an investment of £21 million for the training of 400 more educational psychologists, who play a critical role in the educational support available to children with SEND.The consultation for the SEND review closed on 22 July 2022. The department is currently reviewing the feedback received and using this, along with continued engagement with the system, to inform the next stage of delivering improvements for children, young people and their families.The department is committed to publishing a full response to the green paper in an Improvement Plan in early 2023.  We will continue to support the system in the immediate term to deliver change, and continue to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need AP.

Children: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of child protection procedures on families affected by myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome.

Claire Coutinho: The statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)’ clarifies local authorities’ responsibilities for leading the statutory assessment of children in need and making child protection enquiries. The guidance sets out that local authorities, with their partners, should develop and publish local protocols for assessment. A local protocol should set out clear arrangements for how cases should be managed once a child is referred into local authority children’s social care and be consistent with the requirements of Working Together. The local protocol should reflect where assessments for some children will require particular care, for instance due to health conditions. The detail of each protocol should be led by the local authority in discussion and agreement with the safeguarding partners and relevant agencies where appropriate.Every assessment undertaken should draw together relevant information gathered from the child and their family, as well as relevant practitioners to help decide the nature and level of the child’s needs and assess what interventions and support should be provided under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989. This should take account of any health conditions.As it is for local authorities to manage this locally, the department does not hold a central record of this.

Pupils: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support the Government provides to children in full-time education who have myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome.

Claire Coutinho: The department is committed supporting pupils with medical conditions so that they have full access to education. In 2014, the department introduced a new duty on schools to support pupils with all medical conditions, including myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome. Statutory guidance for schools on how to support pupils with medical conditions has been published and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.The guidance does not specify which medical conditions should be supported in schools. It focuses on how to meet the needs of each individual child and how their medical condition impacts on school life.The statutory guidance states that governing boards should ensure any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs has received suitable training. This is to ensure that staff are competent and have confidence in their ability to support pupils with medical conditions, and to fulfil the requirements as set out in individual healthcare plans (IHPs).Schools also have duties under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments and not to discriminate against disabled children, including those with certain long-term health conditions, in relation to their access to education and associated services. Schools must make reasonable adjustments to their practices, procedures, and policies to ensure that they are not putting those with certain long-term health problems at a substantial disadvantage.

Department for Education: Ministers

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Ministers served in her Department in 2022.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Ministers serving in her Department in 2022 held responsibilities for higher education matters.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average length of time was for which Ministers with responsibility for higher education held those responsibilities in 2022.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many former Ministers with responsibility for higher education in her Department received ministerial severance payments in 2022; and how much ministerial severance pay was paid in total in 2022 to former Ministers with responsibility for higher education.

Nick Gibb: Sixteen Ministers served in the Department in 2022, of which nine held responsibilities for higher education matters.They were responsible for higher education matters for the following durations of time:Alex Burghart MP, the Rt Hon Michelle Donelan MP and the Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP (as Secretary of State) held responsibilities for higher education matters from January 2022 to July 2022.The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP (as Secretary of State) was responsible for higher education from July 2022 to September 2022.Andrea Jenkyns MP held responsibilities for higher education matters from July 2022 to October 2022.The Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP (as Secretary of State) held responsibilities for higher education matters from September 2022 to October 2022.The Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP, Baroness Barran and the Rt Hon Gillian Keegan MP (as Secretary of State) have held responsibility for higher education matters since October 2022.The provision of severance payments for Ministers is set out in legislation. Details of the severance payments made to ministers when leaving office are published in the Departments’ annual reports and accounts.

Department for Education: Remote Working

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of her Department’s employees work from home at least one day a week.

Nick Gibb: Information on occupancy of the main Department for Education headquarters site is published and available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-headquarters-occupancy-data.Since March 2020, the Department has adapted to more agile ways of working to continue delivering business priorities.With the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the Department has adopted a hybrid working model, with staff expected to work from the office or other face to face work setting for at least 60% of their week. The actual number of days will vary depending on individual working patterns.

Department for Education: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for September 2021, what materials to support learning and development activities were purchased from Total Merchandise on 16 September 2021; and for which division’s away day were they required.

Nick Gibb: This funding was used to purchase resources to facilitate the running of a division-wide event. This event was designed to enable staff to be prepared to deliver work in support of schools during the 2021/22 academic year. The event involved professional development activity for their key work areas as well as training materials for teams to take away. Tote bags were purchased to contain those resources and badges and supporting materials were purchased as a reminder to staff of the activity that had taken place. This activity and the materials were delivered to around seventy staff, representing approximately £8.50 per member of staff for that year. At the time of purchase, the directorate was Regional Delivery Directorate West Midlands.

Students: Databases

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of taking steps to require higher education providers to record student data by biological sex.

Robert Halfon: The department has not made any independent assessment of requiring higher education (HE) providers to record student data by biological sex.As the Designated Data Body that collects and publishes statistics about HE providers, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) specifies the information that is required from students.HESA have consulted on how personal characteristics should be collected in future. This consultation was conducted in partnership with the UK governments, Office for Students and other UK funding bodies. This consultation considered the merits of different approaches to the recording of student sex.Following the consultation, it was determined that the sex stated on one of the individual’s legal documents such as birth certificate, Gender Recognition Certificate, or passport ought to be recorded. If there is any conflict, the newest document should be referenced.Details of HESA’s consultation are published here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/innovation/records/reviews/consultation-outcomes-personal-characteristics-equality-data.Details of the information required from HE providers in 2022/23 are published here: https://codingmanual.hesa.ac.uk/22056/Student/field/SEXID.

Department for Education: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for November 2021, what the name was of the speaker hired by the Education and Skills Funding Agency from Speakers Associates on 23 November 2021; and for how long that person spoke to staff at that event.

Nick Gibb: The speaker was Jermaine Harris. He gave a keynote speech at the event for three hours and held sessions prior to the event also lasting three hours.

Religion: Education

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 108214 on Religion: Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure high standards of religious education teaching in all schools; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a national curriculum for religious education.

Nick Gibb: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.Religious education (RE) is an essential part of a school’s curriculum and remains a compulsory subject in all state funded schools, including academies, to all pupils up to the age of 18. RE develops an individual’s knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society, as well as serving to inform their own values and behaviour.To ensure high standards of RE teaching, resources will be procured by Oak National Academy during the second tranche of its work. Oak will work closely with the sector and utilise sector experience when producing new materials for RE. This will ensure that high quality lessons are available nationwide, benefitting both teachers and pupils, should schools opt to use them.To support high standards of RE teaching in all schools, the Department is continuing to offer eight-week subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses in the 2022/23 academic year, for candidates who have the potential to become outstanding teachers, but need to increase their subject knowledge. The eight-week SKE course, available in RE, can be undertaken on a full time or part time basis, but must be completed before qualified teacher status can be recommended and awarded. Eligible candidates could be entitled to a SKE bursary of £175 per week to support them financially whilst completing their SKE course. More information on these courses is available here: www.gov.uk/guidance/subject-knowledge-enhancement-an-introduction.The Government has no plans to introduce a national compulsory curriculum for RE. The Government’s policy is to allow RE curricula to be designed at a local level, whether that is through locally agreed syllabuses or by individual schools and academy trusts developing their own curricula.

Ministry of Justice

Family Courts: Standards

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time was between commencement and disposal of cases in the family law courts in the latest period for which data is available.

Mike Freer: Family court data is published monthly by HMCTS and is available through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmcts-management-information. The latest data set was published 12 January 2023 covering the period from November 2021 to October 2022.

Crown Court and Magistrates Courts: Staff

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) Magistrate Court and (b) Crown Court sitting days lost due to staff shortages in 2022.

Mike Freer: The information requested is not held. Sitting days are the number of days that judges or magistrates sit in court each year to hear cases brought before them. The listing of cases into allocated sitting days is a matter for the independent judiciary. In April 2022, we removed the limit on sitting days in the Crown Court for 2022/23. Staffing resource is allocated to support the administration of cases.

Powers of Attorney: Applications

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle delays in processing lasting power of attorney applications by the Office of the Public Guardian.

Mike Freer: OPG are working hard to reduce the length of time that customers are currently waiting for their LPAs to be registered. To tackle the backlog of applications that arose during the pandemic and meet the increased demand for services, OPG have hired extra staff and teams are working overtime and across multiple shift patterns to ensure customers receive their LPAs as quickly as possible. OPG have introduced process efficiencies and continue to make sure they are doing all they can to improve the application journey for customers. These measures are starting to take effect and customers should see waiting times begin to reduce.

Public Spaces Protection Orders: Fines and Fixed Penalties

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) fines and (b) Fixed Penalty Notices were issued for breach of public spaces protection orders in each of the last 12 years.

Mike Freer: The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB), which is why the Government provided the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. This includes public spaces protection orders, which councils can issue to stop people committing anti-social behaviour in a public space. Breach of a public spaces protection order is a criminal offence, carrying a penalty of a fine.While the Ministry of Justice does not hold data on fixed penalty notices issued by the police, the Ministry of Justice routinely publishes information on the number of fines issued for various offences. Data showing the number of fines issued for breach of a public spaces protection order in the last 12 years can be found across the following data tools:Source 1: Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2022 (July 2017 to June 2022)Source 2: Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2021 (January 2017 to June 2017)Source 3: Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool (January 2015 to December 2016)As the public spaces protection orders were introduced in 2014, no defendants were recorded as dealt with for this offence prior to 2015.

Antisocial Behaviour: Prison Sentences

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been imprisoned for failing to comply with a court order issued for antisocial behaviour in each year since 2010.

Mike Freer: As part of the Government’s commitment to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB), the Government provided the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.The Ministry of Justice does not hold complete data on this issue. This is because anti-social behaviour can encompass a wide variety of behaviour and is not a specific criminal offence. However, where a criminal offence has been committed as part of anti-social behaviour, a Criminal Behaviour Order can be issued by the courts to tackle the most serious and persistent anti-social individuals who are also engaged in criminal activity. Criminal Behaviour Orders came into force in October 2014.The Ministry of Justice publishes information on prosecutions and sentencing outcomes for breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order in the following data tools:Source 1: Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2022 (July 2017 to June 2022)Source 2: Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2021 (January 2017 to June 2017)Source 3: Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2020 (January 2014 to December 2016

Ministry of Justice: Remote Working

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of their Department’s employees work from home at least one day a week.

Mike Freer: We do not hold data centrally on the proportion of employees who work from home at least one day per week.In MoJ we operate hybrid working arrangements, which in the main are informal by nature, and managers retain the right to ask employees to come into the office on particular days or on a continuous basis where this is necessary to meet the needs of the business and ensure the effective and productive delivery of work carried out by civil servants.

Community Protection Notices

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many individuals have failed to comply with a community protection notice each year since 2010.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in how many and what proportion of instances of individuals failing to comply with Community Protection Notice were fines issued.

Mike Freer: As part of the Government’s commitment to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB), the Government provided the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. This includes the Community Protection Notices, which can be issued by the police or the local authority to deal with ongoing problems or nuisances which are having a persistent or continuing and detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality.Breach of a Community Protection Notice is a criminal offence and, in such instances, a fine will be imposed. The Government takes the recovery and enforcement of all financial impositions very seriously and remains committed to ensuring impositions are paid. This includes fines issued for breaches of Community Protection Notices.Information on the number of individuals who have been prosecuted for failing to comply with a Community Protection Notice can be found across the following data tools:Source 1: Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2022 (July 2017 to June 2022)Source 2: Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2021 (January 2017 to June 2017)Source 3: Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool (January 2014 to December 2016)The courts will do everything within their powers to trace those who do not pay their fines and use a variety of means to ensure the recovery of criminal fines and financial penalties, resulting in the ongoing recuperation of significant sums by the courts.As the Community Protection Notices were introduced in 2014, no defendants were recorded as dealt with for this offence prior to 2014.

Probation: Training

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost is of each place for a Professional Qualification in Probation.

Damian Hinds: We would not be able to provide an average annual cost as the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost and would contain commercially sensitive information relating to partner suppliers.

Prison Officers: Pay

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the hourly payment rate for overtime is for prison officers through Payment Plus.

Damian Hinds: The current payment rate for Prison Officers is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/psprb-twenty-first-report-on-england-and-wales-2022. This is paid for specific circumstances in addition to the individual’s normal rate of pay.

Family Courts: Standards

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases are outstanding before the family law court as of 12 January 2023.

Mike Freer: Family court data is published monthly by HMCTS and can be found through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmcts-management-information. The latest data set was published 12 January 2023 covering the period from November 2021 to October 2022.

Offences against Children: Convictions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of possession of indecent and prohibited images of children in the UK in each of the last five years.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants convicted of possession of indecent and prohibited images of children, in England and Wales, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2022.

Homicide and Rape: Trials

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) rape and (b) murder trials that have been postponed in each year since 2010.

Edward Argar: We have interpreted your request as being for ineffective trials, which is where the trial does not commence on the due date and requires rescheduling. This could be due to a variety of reasons, such as the absence of a defendant or a witness or adjournment requests from either the prosecution or defence. Ineffective trial volumes for rape and murder offences at the Crown Court from 2014 to June 2022 can be found in the attached table. Information on ineffective trials broken down by offence are not available prior to 2014.Table (xlsx, 20.9KB)

Bail

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made on the impact of court backlogs on length of bail times.

Mike Freer: Our decisive action in the Courts kept justice moving during the face of an unprecedented pandemic and as a result, the outstanding caseload in the Crown Court had reduced from 60,400 cases in June 2021 to 57,300 cases at the end of March 2022. However, the caseload increased again from April, primarily due to the Criminal Bar Association action, and stood at 62,500 at the end of October. Thanks to actions taken to restore Crown Court operations, including removing the limit of sitting days in the Crown Court, extending Nightingale courts, and increasing Magistrates’ Court sentencing powers, the caseload has now decreased and stood at 61,900 at the end of November. Information about the length of time that individuals spend on bail is not centrally recorded in the Court Proceeding Database held by Ministry of Justice and to obtain it would involve a manual interrogation of court records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the department. HMPPS provides temporary accommodation as an alternative to custody, if deemed appropriate by the courts. Approved Premises (APs) and Community Accommodation Service-Tier 2 (formerly the Bail Accommodation Support Services (BASS)) are a community-based alternative to custody that can be used by Courts, in conjunction with other conditions including electronic monitoring. We are increasing these provisions, so that courts can bail more defendants where that course of action is appropriate.

Family Courts: Standards

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the average length of time that is taken for family law cases to be heard.

Mike Freer: We are determined to reduce delays and bring down waiting times in the family courts. We are investing a significant amount of funding to achieve this, and we have made greater use of fee-paid judges by lifting the number of days they can sit. We are also maximising judicial recruitment. This year’s recruitment programme is for up to 1,000 judges and tribunal members across all jurisdictions. Last July, we introduced a Virtual Region pilot to enable deputy district judges from other regions to sit virtually in London and the South East, so we can hear as many cases as possible. We remain committed to better supporting families to resolve their issues earlier and without coming to court, where it is safe and appropriate to do so, including through the mediation voucher scheme, which we launched in March 2021. To date, over 13,500 families have successfully used the scheme to access mediation and help resolve disputes outside of court. Although prioritisation of cases is a judicial decision, we are working closely with the judiciary and operational partners to ensure that public law cases and the most urgent cases, such as those with significant safeguarding issues, can be prioritised as they come to court.

Crown Court and Magistrates Courts: ICT

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) Magistrate Court and (b) Crown Court sitting days lost due to the Common Platform since its introduction.

Mike Freer: We do not record data on sitting days lost due to Common Platform performance. Sitting days are the number of days that judges or magistrates sit in court each year to hear cases brought before them. The listing of cases into allocated sitting days is a matter for the independent judiciary.

Child Arrangement Orders

Tom Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing the requirement for grandparents to seek the leave of the court before applying for a child arrangement order.

Mike Freer: If they have not been living with the child(ren) concerned for one year immediately preceding the application, grandparents will first need to seek the permission of the court to apply for a child arrangements order. This requirement is not designed to be an obstacle but to sift out applications that are not in the child’s best interests. The welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in any decision the court makes, including in relation to who a child lives with or spends time with, and as such the current requirements in place are seen as the best method to ensure the safety and welfare of the child.It is our intention to consult on measures to encourage and support more parents and other parties such as grandparents to resolve their disputes without needing to come to court.

Asylum and Immigration: Appeals

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average time taken to resolve First-tier Tribunal immigration and asylum appeals for (a) asylum/protection, (b) human rights and (c) EEA free movement.

Mike Freer: General information about waiting times for appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) (IAC) is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics. To reduce backlogs and improve waiting times an additional £5 million pounds has been invested in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) allowing the Tribunal to maximise sitting levels across the remainder of this financial year. This investment will allow the Tribunal to hear up to 9,000 more cases over the next three months. In addition, we are continuing to introduce further improvements to the digital appeal service. Appeals progressing as a part of the digital service are case managed throughout, ensuring they can be resolved quickly without a hearing where appropriate. We are also delivering Tribunal reforms through the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 – which was opposed by the Labour party - with new expedited appeal routes for cases where appellants are in detention, or those who make late claims having received priority removal notices. We will also deliver a new route for Age Assessment appeals. The Tribunal Procedure Committee is currently consulting on rules for these changes.

Ministry of Justice: Waste

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many tonnes of food waste were produced from his Departmental estate in financial year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 up to the end of December 2022.

Mike Freer: In line with Greening Government Commitments (GGCs), the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has developed a food waste reporting process that enables the department to work towards further reducing its food waste. The requested information for 2021-2022 will be published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report for 2021-2022, due later this year. The data for April 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022 will be published in the Annual Report covering 2022-2023. GGC annual reporting is delayed due to Covid-19 impacts, but government remains committed to reducing the environmental impact of its estate and operations. Established in 2010, the GGCs set out the actions that government will take to improve the environmental impact of the government estate and its operations. They demonstrate how the UK government is leading by example and working to improve the environmental performance of its own estate and operations, in line with our 25 Year Environment Plan commitments to improve the environment within a generation. Since inception of the GGCs, government has halved its greenhouse gas emissions and waste, in addition to making many other efficiencies. Progress against the commitments is published in GGC annual reports. MoJ is currently developing a Circular Economy strategy setting out our approach to reducing waste and improving resource efficiency, including food waste. The department is also committed to meeting Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services which include specific requirements to reduce food waste in our service contracts. In 2021-22, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), together with HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), produced 4,383 tonnes of food waste, disposed of through composting and anaerobic digestion. This represents a reduction from 5,633 tonnes the year before.

Ministry of Justice: Paper

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many reams of A4 paper were purchased by his Department in financial years (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is committed to the Greening Government Commitments target of reducing government’s paper use by at least 50% from a 2017 to 2018 baseline. Our paper purchasing for the financial year 2019-2020 was published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report which is available on gov.uk. Our paper purchasing for the financial year 2020-2021 will be published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report for 2020-2021, in early 2023. Our paper purchasing for the financial year 2021-2022 will be published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report for 2021-2022. GGC annual reporting is delayed due to Covid-19 impacts, but government remains committed to reducing the environmental impact of its estate and operations. Established in 2010, the Greening Government Commitments (GGCs) set out the actions that government will take to improve the environmental impact of the government estate and its operations. They demonstrate how the UK government is leading by example and working to improve the environmental performance of its own estate and operations, in line with our 25 Year Environment Plan commitments to improve the environment within a generation. Since inception of the GGCs, government has halved its greenhouse gas emissions and waste, in addition to making many other efficiencies. Progress against the commitments is published in GGC annual reports. MoJ is reducing its paper usage through adopting smarter working practices, operating paperless meetings and digitising business processes.

Ministry of Justice: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2022 to Question 106392, how many purchases with a value less than £500 were made against his Department’s budget through a Government procurement card in 2021.

Mike Freer: In 2021 the Ministry of Justice made 231,362 purchases for goods and services with a value of less than £500 on a government procurement card. Government Procurement Card (GPC) is used for low value purchases where there is no contract in place. All purchases on GPC are subject to normal MoJ controls in line with GPC policy and are appropriate use of public funds. The figure provided includes transactions made in MoJ and the agencies and arm’s length bodies listed below: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS)Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunals Service (HMCTS)Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)Legal Aid Agency (LAA)Office of the Public Guardian (OPG)Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC)Parole Board (PB)Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB)Law CommissionHM Inspectorate of PrisonsHM Inspectorate of ProbationIndependent Monitoring Authority (IMA)Judicial OfficeThe Legal OmbudsmanOfficial Solicitor and Public TrusteePrisons and Probation Ombudsman

Wandsworth Prison: Prison Officers

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prison officers at Wandsworth Prison attended their shift in each month of 2022.

Damian Hinds: The requested information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.All public sector prisons have systems in place for the day-to-day management of staff resources and regime delivery, to ensure that regimes are safe, decent, secure, resilient and sustainable.

Treasury

Plastics: Recycling

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of utilising the mass balance approach to measure chemical recyclate.

James Cartlidge: Chemical recycling offers a potential complementary route for plastic recycling where mechanical recycling is impractical or uneconomic. Mass balance is one of several chain of custody models that is used by industries to track materials through a complex value chain and can, in principle, be used to determine recycled content in a product. It is important that mass balance does not allow for overclaiming of the recycled content in plastic. In general, chain of custody models are used in different industries to track all steps and inputs in a supply chain for a product.

Large Goods Vehicles: Customs

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many vehicles were sent to inland border facilities due to the failure of the Goods Vehicle Management System in January 2023.

Victoria Atkins: On 1 January 2023, there was a technical issue with the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) which affected some traders’ ability to move goods using the service. The issue was swiftly fixed and GVMS continues to work well. We are aware that fewer than 15 vehicles were directed to attend Inland Border Facilities, due to traders’ customs declarations requiring further action following updates to the Customs Declaration Service. HMRC worked closely with affected traders to ensure their goods reached their destination as quickly as possible. We are not aware of any vehicles being directed to Inland Border Facilities due to the technical issue with GVMS.

Goods Vehicle Movement Service

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the number of vehicles that were unable to use the Goods Vehicle Management System on 2 January 2022.

Victoria Atkins: On 1 January 2023, there was a technical issue with the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) which affected some traders’ ability to move goods using the service. The issue was swiftly fixed and GVMS continues to work well. We are aware that fewer than 15 vehicles were directed to attend Inland Border Facilities, due to traders’ customs declarations requiring further action following updates to the Customs Declaration Service. HMRC worked closely with affected traders to ensure their goods reached their destination as quickly as possible. We are not aware of any vehicles being directed to Inland Border Facilities due to the technical issue with GVMS.

Veterans Mobility Fund

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide funding to veterans charities to ensure continued support is made available to veterans who were in receipt of support under the Veterans Mobility Fund.

John Glen: The Government is committed to supporting all our veterans, and to ensuring that they continue to thrive after leaving the services. Since 2014, the Government has committed £773m of LIBOR fines to support Armed Forces and Emergency Service charities. As part of this package, the Chancellor awarded the Royal British Legion £3m to develop a Veterans Mobility Fund, designed to meet the wellbeing needs of veterans discharged with service-attributable serious physical injury. At the same time, the Chancellor also awarded £10m to develop a Veterans Hearing Fund, providing support to veterans who suffered hearing loss during service. In 2019, at the Royal British Legion’s request, the Treasury authorised the transfer of almost £1.5m from the Veterans Mobility Fund to the Veterans Hearing Fund, following dramatic increases in the rate of applications for the Hearing Fund and a comparatively static application rate for the Mobility Fund. Both the Veterans Hearing and Veterans Mobility Funds have now closed. Since 2020, we have announced a further £10m funding to support veterans’ mental health, £475k to support the development of a digital and data strategy for the sector, £5m to enable charities to address the impact of events in Afghanistan on veterans, a £5m Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund, and £8.55m in December last year to end veteran homelessness in 2023. More than 100 service charities, including those who support veterans, also benefitted from £6m of the £750m to support the charity sector announced by the Chancellor in April 21 in support of COVID-19. The Governments Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan sets out the steps we will take in the next two years towards our ambition of making the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran by 2028. Decisions on additional funding on Veterans’ issue are routinely considered at fiscal events.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with HMRC on technical problems affecting the availability of public helplines for self-assessments.

Victoria Atkins: HMRC have introduced a ‘Period of Restricted Change’ to protect live service by reducing the volume of changes made to our IT / Telephony service. This vastly reduces the risk of IT and Telephony outages. Every January, HMRC introduce a Key Business Event wrap-around support for ‘Self-Assessment’ which in essence, provides protective guardrails across the end-to-end service, including the Online customer services and Telephony lines, but also the underpinning infrastructure, at this crucial business peak for HMRC.’

Imports: Norfolk Island

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much (a) rough wood, (b) sowing seeds, (c) instructional models, (d) cheese and (e) scrap aluminium the UK has imported from Norfolk Island in the last five years.

Victoria Atkins: We have no record of any of the goods in question being imported into the UK from Norfolk Island in the last five years. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com). From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria. Classification codes (according to the Harmonised System) are available to assist you in accessing published trade statistics data in the UK Global Tariff. Goods moving to and from the UK are identified by an eight-digit commodity code. These are publicly available from the UK Trade Tariff at www.gov.uk/trade-tariff.

Arms Trade: Export Controls

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many fines were issued by HMRC in 2022 for breaches of the UK's arms export regime.

Victoria Atkins: I refer the honourable member to the question UIN 117615 answered on 9 January 2023. HMRC has issued 18 compound settlements from January to October 2022 for breaches of the UK arms export regime. The details for each of those settlements are within each of the following links:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-to-exporters-202212-uk-exporters-fined-for-unlicensed-strategic-exports/nte-202212-uk-exporters-fined-for-unlicensed-strategic-exports.  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-to-exporters-202231-uk-exporters-issued-compound-settlements-for-unlicensed-strategic-exports/nte-202231-uk-exporters-issued-compound-settlements-for-unlicensed-strategic-exports.  Details of compound settlements for November and December 2022 are due to be released in the next few weeks. The details of which will be published athttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/notices-to-exporters#notices-to-exporters-2023.  Information on HMRC enforcement outcomes is published in the Strategic Export Controls Annual Reports which are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/united-kingdom-strategic-export-controls-annual-report.

Housing: Insulation

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department held consultations with representatives from the Local Government Association before establishing a date of 2025 to begin the funding programme for home insulation as announced in the 2022 Autumn Statement.

James Cartlidge: At the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced £6bn of additional funding for energy efficiency, covering the financial years 2025/26 to 2027/28. This provides funding certainty to the sector ahead of the next Spending Review. Almost £3bn is already allocated for Financial Years 2023/24 and 2024/25 on energy efficiency, the majority of which will go to Local Authorities. In addition to this, the government is expanding the Energy Company Obligation by £1 billion over the next three years, from April 2023.

Housing: Insulation

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department held discussions with representatives of local government before setting a date of 2025 to begin the funding programme for home insulation announced in the 2022 Autumn Statement.

James Cartlidge: At the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced £6bn of additional funding for energy efficiency, covering the financial years 2025/26 to 2027/28. This provides funding certainty to the sector ahead of the next Spending Review. Almost £3bn is already allocated for Financial Years 2023/24 and 2024/25 on energy efficiency, the majority of which will go to Local Authorities. In addition to this, the government is expanding the Energy Company Obligation by £1 billion over the next three years, from April 2023.

Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication of Government procurement card spending over £500 in November 2020, what items did his Department purchased from Barrow Hepburn &amp; Gale on 25 November 2020; and for what purpose.

James Cartlidge: This cost relates to work equipment required for government business.

Energy: Storage

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to introduce (a) tax credits or (b) other forms of tax relief for energy storage schemes.

James Cartlidge: As outlined in the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government is committed to encouraging all forms of flexibility in the energy system, including large-scale, long duration electricity storage, hydrogen electrolysers to use surplus low carbon electricity and other battery storage. To support this strategy, there are already some tax reliefs for energy storage schemes Following the expansion of the VAT relief for energy saving materials announced at Spring Statement 2022, battery storage supplied as part of the installation of any qualifying material, including solar panels, will benefit from a VAT zero rate for the next 5 years Expenditure on energy storage schemes may qualify for existing capital allowances, depending on the facts of the particular case. For example, the Annual Investment Allowance is available for main and special rate assets, and allows businesses to write off the cost of qualifying plant and machinery investment in one go, up to £1m The Government keeps all tax and tax reliefs under review with policy announcements expected at fiscal events.

Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Department’s publication of spending over £500 with a Government procurement card in October 2021, (a) at what hotel, (b) for how many individuals and (c) for how many nights accommodation was purchased through Booking.com on 25 October 2021; and what the purpose of those hotel bookings was.

James Cartlidge: On the 25th of October 2021, a Government Procurement Card was used to make a booking with Cityroomz hotel in Edinburgh. This booking was for officials who were attending COP26 events.

Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Department’s publication of Government procurement card spending over £500 for July 2021, whether the entries for spending at the Hotel Danieli on 6 July 2021 are two separate items of expenditure.

James Cartlidge: On the 6th of July 2021, the entries for spending at the hotel Danieli are two separate items of expenditure.

Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2022 to Question 110631 on Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, how much of the expenditure incurred on 2 July 2021 was subsequently recovered by the Financial Services Group following the postponement of the planned event.

James Cartlidge: £3277.20 was recovered.

Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2022 to Question 110633 on Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, how many members of staff received training sessions from Rada Business on (a) 2 March 2021, (b) 15 March 2021 and (c) 17 March 2021.

James Cartlidge: No training took place on those dates.

Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 107065 on Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, how many purchases with a value less than £500 were made against his Department’s budget through a Government procurement card in 2021.

James Cartlidge: HM Treasury made a total of 1021 transactions of less than £500 on Government Procurement Cards (GPC) in 2021.

Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication of spending over £500 with a Government procurement card in November 2021, for what purpose was £1,500 paid to House of Lords Catering by UK Government Investments on 4 November 2021.

James Cartlidge: In November 2021, the sum of £1500 was paid via a government procurement card by UK Government Investments (UKGI) for hire of a room in the House of Lords and hosting of an event for over one hundred attendees. UKGI routinely recruits experienced corporate finance professionals who may later return to the private sector. This kind of event helps UKGI in maintaining close links to sectors and individuals with the specific experience and expertise UKGI needs to continue to be the government’s centre for excellence in corporate governance and finance.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount of time HMRC public telephone numbers were not available in each of the last three years.

Victoria Atkins: In the last three years, there were 10 instances when HMRC’s telephony lines were unavailable. This equates to 0.0018 per cent of total hours over the three-year period.

Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500, how many staff in his core Department received training as a result of the payments to The Hub Events Ltd. on (i) 2 March 2021, (ii) 21 June 2021, (iii) 14 July 2021, (iv) 9 August 2021, and (v) 13 December 2021; and for what purpose that training was required.

James Cartlidge: HMT can confirm that the above listed training events were attended by the below related number of HMT staff. (i) 4 members of staff – IT skills course(ii) 12 members of staff per session – Management Skills course(iii) 30 members of staff - Management Skills course(iv) 30 members of staff - Management Skills course(v) 12 members of staff - Management Skills course

Taxation: Self-assessment

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps has he taken to help ensure that people can easily contact HMRC on the matter of self- assessments.

Victoria Atkins: January is the busiest time of the year for HMRC due to the Self-Assessment filing peak. Helplines are busy, and wait times are longer than usual. HMRC encourages customers to check online instead of waiting on phonelines, saving them time and effort. The quickest and easiest way to manage tax affairs and answer queries is through the HMRC app or the personal tax account. Customers can also go online to use HMRC’s digital assistant, guidance and helpsheets on GOV.UK, youtube videos and live webinars. Every January, HMRC moves significant numbers of staff from other business areas to prioritise the Self-Assessment (SA) helpline to help people in the run up to the filing deadline.

Motorcycles: Excise Duties

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to amend the Vehicle Excise Duty rules so that it is based on the fuel type and level of CO2 emissions of a motorcycle rather than its engine size.

James Cartlidge: VED for motorcycles is currently based on engine size. The current rates range from £20 to £101 for those with the largest engines, which in part aims to reflect the environmental benefits of using smaller engines. The Chancellor announced in his 2022 Autumn Statement that electric motorcycles will begin to pay VED from April 2025. While there are no current plans to further reform the VED system for motorcycles, as with all taxes, VED remains under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor.

Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for August 2021, for which team were Kent University paid £1,392.30 on 18 August 2021 for the facilitation and accommodation of an away day; how many individuals took part in that away day, and for what purpose that away day was required.

James Cartlidge: £1,392.30 was paid to Kent University on 18th August 2021 for facilitation and accommodation fees for the residential part of a degree course for economics apprentices.

Financial Services

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data his Department holds on the value of the (a) financial assets and investments managed in the UK and (b) revenue brought in by his Department through taxation on capital in financial year 2021-22; and what proportion of those financial assets and investments were domiciled in the UK in that financial year.

Victoria Atkins: There is no statutory requirement for asset managers or financial institutions to report to Government on valuations of assets of investments under management in the UK, so the requested information is not held. Further information of different types of capital assets has been compiled by the Office for Budget Responsibility for their Economic and Fiscal Outlook publication which is available here: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-november-2022/

Revenue and Customs: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HMRC spent in 2021 on purchasing goods and services with a value of less than £500 on a Government procurement card; and how many purchases HMRC made with a value of less than £500 on a government procurement card in 2021.

James Cartlidge: In 2021, 6621 purchases under £500 were made using either a physical Government Procurement Card or a virtual card, with a total value of £392,848.

Treasury: Waste

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many tonnes of food waste were produced from (a) his Departmental estate, and (b) HMRC’s Departmental estate, in financial year (i) 2021-22 and (ii) 2022-23 up to the end of December 2022.

James Cartlidge: The 2021-22 Waste Analysis is published in the Sustainability Report within the Annual Report and Accounts of both Departments, but does not show food waste separately. HMT composted/anaerobic digestion which includes food waste data can be found here HMT Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2021-22.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk) HMRC 2021-22 Recycled/Reused Waste which includes food waste can be found here HMRC annual report and accounts 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The 2022-23 data for HMT and HMRC will be published in due course.

Housing Improvement: VAT

Munira Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing VAT on household refurbishments.

Victoria Atkins: VAT has been designed as a broad-based tax on consumption, and the twenty per cent standard rate applies to the vast majority of goods and services. While there are exceptions to the standard rate, these have always been strictly limited by both legal and fiscal considerations. There are no plans to change the VAT treatment of household refurbishments.

Plastics: Taxation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reinvesting a proportion of the revenues of the Plastics Packaging Tax into plastics recycling infrastructure.

James Cartlidge: The government introduced a Plastic Packaging Tax with the aim of encouraging the use of recycled plastic in plastic packaging and in-turn stimulating increased levels of recycling and collection of plastic waste. As set out at Budget 2018, when the tax was first announced, future revenues raised from the Plastic Packaging Tax and the Packaging Producer Responsibility reforms will enable investment to address single-use plastics, waste and litter. The above reforms will collectively drive higher rates of recycling and demand for recycled plastics, creating a positive environment for private investment in additional plastics recycling infrastructure.

Car Allowances: Self-employed

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to review the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments rate for the self-employed.

James Cartlidge: Self-employed people can get tax relief for fuel and other business motoring expenses by choosing to use either the simplified mileage rate or by claiming capital allowances and actual expenses. The simplified mileage rate is intended to create administrative simplicity and certainty by using an average rate, which reflects vehicle running costs including fuel, depreciation, servicing, insurance, and Vehicle Excise Duty. As it is an average, the rate is necessarily more appropriate for some drivers than others. As with all taxes and allowances, simplified mileage rates are kept under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor at fiscal events.

Treasury: Remote Working

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of his Department’s employees work from home at least one day a week.

James Cartlidge: HMT operates a hybrid working arrangement which requires staff to spend as a minimum 50% of their working time in the office. This equates to office attendance of 2-3 days per week for fulltime staff and pro-rata basis for part-time staff. HMT’s office occupancy data is published on Gov.Uk:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-headquarters-occupancy-data

Financial Ombudsman Service: Impartiality

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the impartiality of the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the Financial Ombudsman Service’s complaints procedure.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the impartiality of the Financial Ombudsman Service’s Independent Assessor.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cases the Financial Ombudsman Service has (a) opened and (b) closed in the last year.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the Financial Ombudsman Service’s closed cases have been subject to (a)complaints to the Ombudsman’s Independent Assessor and (b) recommendations or were found to have errors by the Independent Assessor.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Financial Ombudsman Service’s appointment process for its Independent Assessor.

Andrew Griffith: As an independent body the Financial Ombudsman Service’s (FOS) is governed by the framework of duties set out in legislation by Parliament. It must act impartially within this framework and does not represent any vested interests. The FOS is neither a consumer champion nor an industry trade-body. An Independent Review in 2021, found that the FOS is widely respected and viewed as reaching fair and impartial outcomes in the majority of cases. The Government believes it is vitally important that the FOS should be accountable for its performance and the quality of its work and will continue to hold it to account. In regards to the adequacy of the FOS’ complaints procedure, the Independent Review identified some key areas for change, including the need to improve digital capability and reduce case backlogs and made 22 recommendations to the FOS. In response, the FOS published its ‘Action Plan’ in 2021. The FOS publishes regular updates against this Action Plan which provides regular opportunities for scrutiny. In their latest update, published in May 2022, the FOS showed significant success in reducing its backlog of cases from 90,000 to just over 37,000. Reducing waiting times is a priority for the FOS in the next financial year. The Independent Assessor is appointed by the FOS Board and provides an important opportunity for consumers to bring complaints about the FOS’ conduct or capability. The Independent Assessor is required to take an impartial approach and can make recommendations to the FOS about operational issues such as communication and timeliness. The Independent Assessor also provides important scrutiny of the FOS through their annual report which makes broader recommendations for the FOS about how it can improve its service: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/324005/Financial-Ombudsman-Service-The-Independent-Assessors-annual-report-2021-22.pdf In the 2021/22 financial year the FOS received 165,263 complaints and resolved 218,740. Further details can be found in the Plans and Budget 2022-23 consultation: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/320493/plans-and-budget-consultation-2022-23.pdf In the 2021/22 financial year the FOS received a total of 4,131 service complaints and 568 of these were escalated and investigated by the Independent Assessor. Of those, the FOS’ approach was found to be satisfactory in 35% of case, unsatisfactory in 20% of cases and unsatisfactory with recommendations and/or learning points in 45% of cases. Further details can be found in the Independent Assessor’s annual report : https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/324005/Financial-Ombudsman-Service-The-Independent-Assessors-annual-report-2021-22.pdf.

Debts: Ghana

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has taken steps to provide assurances to the government of Ghana on UK support for a rapid and fair conclusion to any sovereign debt restructuring process for that country through the Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative.

Andrew Griffith: The UK welcomes Ghana’s request for a debt treatment under the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative. We stand ready to deliver a debt treatment for Ghana under the Common Framework in a timely and efficient manner. Our support has been conveyed to the government of Ghana through the UK’s representation at the Paris Club.

Ghana: Debts

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of Ghana's sovereign debt payments that are eligible for the Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative and are due to be made to (a) private creditors and (b) private creditors governed by English law.

Andrew Griffith: According to Ghana’s latest joint World Bank/IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis, commercial creditors held 24.7% of GDP of Ghana’s public debt stock at end-2020. As most private debt takes the form of tradable instruments, the amount of international debt held by private creditors governed by English law can fluctuate on a regular basis. While Ghana has made an application to the Common Framework, the scope and terms of its debt treatment are yet to be agreed by creditors.

Safe Hands Plans: Finance

Nick Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Treasury were first made aware of the financial risk posed by Safe Hands Plans funeral scheme.

Andrew Griffith: During a wide-ranging meeting with industry in July 2017 to discuss pre-paid funeral plans, some concerns about Safe Hands Plans were raised with HM Treasury. In response, officials advised that such concerns should more properly be reported to the Financial Conduct Authority, reflecting the fact that HM Treasury has no investigatory or enforcement powers of its own.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Egypt: Human Rights

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much UK (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral Official Development Assistance was spent on (i) LGBT support programmes and (ii) other human rights programmes in Egypt in the 2021 calendar year.

David Rutley: All bilateral and multilateral UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spent in Egypt considers human rights, including LGBT and gender rights. Total UK bilateral aid to Egypt was £16.3 million in 2021 as published in November 2022, the 'Statistics on International Development: final UK aid spend 2021' (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-aid-spend-2021). It is not possible to directly track UK ODA core funding to multilateral organisations as it is pooled with other donors. The UK uses data on the destination and sector of UK multilateral ODA based on estimates published by the OECD DAC to produce an imputed figure for each destination country. Figures for multilateral spend in Egypt are not yet available.Egypt is a human rights priority country for the UK. We actively monitor reports of torture and mistreatment in detention of LGBT+ people in Egypt. We regularly raise human rights with the Egyptian Government, which is well aware of our position on LGBT+ rights and we call on the government of Egypt to uphold and protect the rights of everyone in Egypt. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon most recently raised human rights with the Egyptian Ambassador on the 5 December 2022. We will continue to raise these issues with the Egyptian authorities bilaterally and in conjunction with our international partners.

Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing to Ukraine on humanitarian demining.

Leo Docherty: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has a £2 million agreement with The HALO Trust under the Global Mine Action Programme to undertake mine action activities, including clearance, in Ukraine. HALO is currently using UK funding to conduct survey, clearance and explosive ordinance risk education in northern and eastern Ukraine. The FCDO is also providing demining equipment and training to the State Emergency Services (SES) as part of its £14.5 million contribution to the multi-donor Partnership Fund for Resilient Ukraine and providing £0.6 million to the UN Development Programme to help sector coordination.

Conditions of Employment

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will reviewthe impact of UK firms on working conditions in other countries.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The FCDO does not have plans to conduct a review of the impact of UK firms on working conditions in other countries.The UK Government is a strong advocate for promoting and implementing established international principles and frameworks - such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (through the UK's National Action Plan) and the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises - which encourage businesses to protect and improve human rights and the environment across their operations and supply relationships. The UK is committed to the eradication of all forms of modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking (Sustainable Development Goal 8.7) by 2030.The FCDO's Supply Partner Code of Conduct provides a mechanism to ensure that organisations delivering services or goods for the government provide both value for money and behave ethically. This is embedded proportionately within all FCDO contracts, holding suppliers responsible and accountable for ethical behaviour, safeguarding, social responsibility and human rights. Membership of the UN Global Compact on Business and Human Rights is a requirement for suppliers with commercial contracts.

Tigray: Humanitarian Aid

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help aid the provision of (a) food, (b) medicine and (c) critical infrastructure in Ethiopia's Tigray region.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: In early December, the Foreign Secretary visited Ethiopia and saw first-hand the effects of the humanitarian crisis that has been caused by conflict and severe drought, with an estimated 28.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2023, including 5.4 million in Tigray. He saw the positive impact the UK is having, including mitigating the malnutrition crisis and the departure of UK-funded trucks to resupply parts of northern Ethiopia.Over the last twenty months the UK has provided almost £90 million of life-saving aid to communities across Ethiopia affected by the crises, including Tigray. This support has provided emergency health supplies for 1 million people. Through the recently announced package of £14 million humanitarian support, funding is expected to reach up to 150,000 people with comprehensive health, water sanitation, hygiene and nutrition services across Ethiopia.

Afghanistan: Islamic State

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with regional partners on the strength of ISIS-K in Afghanistan.

Leo Docherty: It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments that we do not comment on intelligence matters. The UK Government closely follows the security situation in Afghanistan and maintains a regular dialogue with international counterparts on these issues.

Russia: Ukraine

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of German on recent reports that indicate increases in the numbers of people in Germany following social media influencers who are disseminating pro-Russian propaganda on the war in Ukraine.

Leo Docherty: The response to disinformation in Germany is a matter for German authorities. The UK and Germany are working closely together in response to Putin's aggression in Ukraine, working with the G7 and NATO to isolate Russia and support Ukraine. We share analysis and insight and co-operate through a range of fora. At the UK-Germany Strategic Dialogue on 5 January 2023, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs confirmed our continued cooperation on Ukraine with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Spanish counterpart on Gibraltar’s land border with Spain; and if he will make a statement.

Leo Docherty: The Foreign Secretary met Spanish Foreign Minister Albares in Madrid on 14 December. They discussed a range of issues including UK-EU negotiations in respect of Gibraltar. All sides are committed to working intensively to conclude a UK-EU Treaty which will ensure the fluid movement of people and goods across Gibraltar's land border. This will help secure future prosperity for both Gibraltar and the surrounding region. The UK remains steadfast in our support for Gibraltar and will not agree to anything that compromises sovereignty.

Balkans: Wagner Group

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the paramilitary Wagner Group is currently operating in (a) Kosovo and (b) Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Leo Docherty: We will oppose Russian attempts to destabilise the region. We are aware of unconfirmed media reporting that Wagner Group has been operating in north Kosovo during the recent heightened tensions and are in regular contact with NATO's Kosovo Force who continue to investigate and monitor the situation closely. There are also unconfirmed reports that citizens from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have been recruited by groups like Wagner, but we have no evidence that the group is operating on BiH territory.

Nagorno Karabakh: Humanitarian Situation

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh following the blockade of the Lachin corridor.

Leo Docherty: The UK Government has made clear that the closure of the Lachin corridor during winter risks severe humanitarian consequences. Officials are in contact with humanitarian agencies, including the ICRC, about their assessment of the impact of the closure and the Government is a significant donor to agencies providing assistance on the ground. I [Minister Docherty] issued a statement highlighting the importance of re-opening the Lachin corridor on 13 December and our Ambassadors in the region and other senior UK officials have reinforced this message with key interlocutors. We also called for early resolution of this issue in our interventions in Vienna at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on 15 December and in New York at the UN Security Council on 20 December.

India: Demolition

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his Indian counterpart to ensure that the (a) human rights and (b) property rights of the residents of Haldwani are being respected.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The British High Commission in New Delhi continues to monitor the situation in Haldwani, while recognising that this is a matter for India.We engage India on a range of human rights matters, working with Union and State Governments, and with Civil Society, to build capacity and share expertise to promote human rights for all. Where we have any issues, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level.

Northern Ireland Protocol: Electricity

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the European Court of Justice has jurisdiction under the Northern Ireland Protocol over the functioning of the integrated Single Electricity Market.

Leo Docherty: As set out in Article 12(4) of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the Court of Justice of the European Union has the jurisdiction provided for in the Treaties in respect of Article 9, which applies the provisions of EU law governing wholesale electricity markets listed in Annex 4 (under the conditions set out in Annex 4) to and in the UK in respect of Northern Ireland.

Turkey: Elections

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of (a) civil society, (b) political, (c) trade union and (d) journalistic freedoms in Turkey ahead of upcoming elections in that country.

Leo Docherty: We keep the human rights situation in Turkey under close scrutiny at all times. Our Embassy in Turkey is engaging regularly with the Turkish authorities, journalists and wider civil society regarding preparations for the elections.

World Bank

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he will have with (a) global development and (b) climate heating stakeholders in the next six months on proposals for World Bank reform.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We welcome the World Bank's commitment to respond effectively to the global challenges we face. We will continue working with partners to support the Bank's twin goals and ensure the poorest will be benefited, including at the upcoming Spring Meetings. We will work with the Bank to explore options for increasing the volume and targeting of its financing, including through implementing the G20 Capital Adequacy Framework review recommendations. On Climate, we are working with the Bank to increase access to climate adaptation finance for climate vulnerable countries to ensure high quality climate finance is going to those most in need.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Midterm report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, published by the United Nations Security Council on 16 December 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings in relation to (a) direct intervention of the Rwandan Defence Force on the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, (b) provision  of weapons, ammunition and uniforms to M23/ARC, (c) support to several Congolese armed groups by Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo members in Rutshuru territory, (d) cooperation between Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo units and Congolese armed groups in Rutshuru territory, (e) increased hate speech and incitement to violence against Rwandaphone minorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and (f) other findings of this report; and what representations he has made to the government of (i) Rwanda and (ii) the Democratic Republic of the Congo following the publication of that report.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We welcome the United Nations Group of Experts investigation into the situation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its reported findings. We fully support the vital work carried out by the UN Group of Experts and stress the need for its continuation. We have raised the findings of the report with the Governments of DRC and Rwanda. Our current focus is on the need for de-escalation, respect for sovereignty, and dialogue through regional processes. We welcome agreement on a ceasefire as agreed at the Luanda Summit in Angola on 23 November 2022. In the week of 9 January, I spoke to both the Rwandan and the DRC Foreign Ministers. I urged both parties to meet the commitments made under Nairobi and Luanda political processes. It is vital that all parties work together to secure real de-escalation on the ground and an enduring political solution. The UK has committed funding support to the East African Community Nairobi political process towards this end.

Development Aid: Health Services

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department spent on international development targeted primarily at (a) the delivery of and (b) research into healthcare services in the last five years.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: From 2017 - 2021, the FCDO spent more than £4.5 billion on activities that primarily support the delivery of health services, and more than £730 million on global health research.Between 2016 and 2021, FCDO supported Gavi to vaccinate 324 million children, averting 6.9 million deaths. Between 2015 and 2020, FCDO reached an average of 25.3 million total women and girls with modern methods of family planning per year, and reached 55.1 million young children, women and adolescent girls through our nutrition programmes. In Nepal, sustained UK support has helped to increase the proportion of women giving birth in health facilities from 9% in 2001 to 80% in 2022.FCDO's investment in health research has supported the development of 11 new drugs for malaria, including a child friendly malaria treatment that is used in more than 50 countries, more than 20 diagnostics for faster and more reliable detection of tuberculosis, malaria, sleeping sickness and COVID-19, and a new vaccine for rotavirus.The spend figure provided for activities that primarily support, directly or indirectly, the delivery of health services includes all activities under the OECD-DAC Creditor Reporting System sector codes for 'Health, General', 'Basic Health', 'Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)' and 'Population Policies/Programmes & Reproductive Health', excluding 'Medical research' (12182) and 'Research for prevention and control of NCDs' (12382). Further information can be found in the Statistics on International Development: final UK aid spend 2021 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-aid-spend-2021).YearActivities that support delivery of health services2017£1,018,870,2992018£936,597,5252019£958,566,7802020£1,041,225,1562021£559,469,940Total£4,514,729,701The total spend on global health research by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's central Research and Evidence Directorate over the last five financial years is as follows:Financial yearTotal spend on global health research2018/19£132,330,0002019/20£155,410,0002020/21£371,860,0002021/22£75,330,0002022/23Final and audited spend for 2022/23 will be published in our annual report at the end of the financial yearTotal£734,930,000

Edwin Chiloba

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to monitor the investigation into the death of Edwin Chiloba in Kenya.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is aware of the death of Edwin Chiloba. While this is a matter for the Kenyan authorities to investigate, I have asked our High Commission in Nairobi to follow developments closely.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to support (a) accountability and (b) peacebuilding following recent intercommunal violence in the Jonglei region of South Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: On 16 December 2022, the Troika (UK, US and Norway) and the EU issued a statement on the escalation of violence in Jonglei State (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-by-the-troika-and-the-european-union-on-violence-in-upper-nile-and-jonglei-states). Our Ambassador to South Sudan has lobbied several senior figures in the South Sudanese Government to increase accountability and conduct peacebuilding dialogues in Jonglei and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area. The UK-funded Peacebuilding Opportunities Fund is a £4.7 million, 3.5 year programme that works to address the root causes of subnational conflict and strengthen community resilience to violence in Jonglei State. It is responding to current violence and establishing community-led peace structures to prevent further escalations.

Somaliland: Demonstrations

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) support accountability and (b) prevent impunity with the authorities in Somaliland for recent deaths associated with protests in the disputed town of Las Anod.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK recognises the importance of stability and security in Somaliland and the region and we regularly coordinate with international partners, the UN and the Somaliland Government to support stabilisation efforts. Following violence in Las Anod, as well as diplomatic engagement, our Ambassador in Mogadishu issued a bilateral statement on 31 December 2022 and a joint statement with the UN and 28 others on 1 January, calling for restraint and dialogue in the context of civilian deaths and casualties. We continue to monitor the situation closely and are urging all sides to de-escalate the situation, avoid further casualties and resolve the matter peacefully.

Guinea-Bissau: Elections

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of progress towards free, fair, peaceful and timely legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Government of Guinea Bissau has begun preparations for legislative elections in June 2023, most notably on updating the electoral register. We have urged the Government of Guinea Bissau to uphold freedom of expression in the run-up to the elections to help ensure a free, fair and peaceful process. The UK has previously supported efforts to strengthen parliamentary capacity in Bissau and provided election monitors. Working with likeminded partners, the UK will keep the situation under review and remains committed to supporting democratic institutions in West Africa.

Developing Countries: LGBT+ People

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken steps to ensure that (a) UK Overseas Development Assistance and (b) other UK public funding and investment does not benefit organisations campaigning for laws discriminating against LGBT+ people; and whether any instances of such funding benefitting such organisations have occurred in the last three years.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: LGBT+ rights are human rights. The UK is committed to championing these rights internationally and supporting those who defend them. We continue to work closely with our international partners and expert civil society organisations to ensure our work is effective and has a lasting impact for LGBT+ people. The FCDO treats equalities issues seriously and we have processes in place to ensure we meet our legal obligations. Any reports of inappropriate activity by partner organisations are investigated and appropriate action taken. For example, in 2021 the FCDO paused funding to the Mental Health Authority in Ghana, following statements made by the Chief Executive Officer regarding LGBT+ people.

World Bank

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of UK contributions to the International Development Association on prospects for World Bank reform in 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The $93 billion International Development Association 20th (IDA20) replenishment was the largest in IDA's history. The UK's £1.4 billion pledge makes us the third largest donor, in line with our share of global Official Development Assistance. We welcome the World Bank's commitment to step up to compounding global challenges. Alongside our IDA20 contribution we will closely engage on the World Bank reform process. We want the reform process to strengthen the Bank's offer to the world's poorest, make best use of the Bank's existing resources, including by implementing recommendations of the G20 Capital Adequacy Framework, and support countries through shocks and compounding crises.

Human Rights

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what engagement the Government had with civil society groups at the negotiations for a UN Binding Treaty in October 2022; and if he will support the Treaty.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government has consistently supported the United Nations Guiding Principles on business and human rights, which are widely regarded as the authoritative international framework to steer practical action by Governments and businesses worldwide on this important agenda.The UK has engaged with the UN Working Group looking at proposals for a new international treaty on business and human rights. The UK attended its eighth session in October 2022, setting out the UK's position via a statement which expressed our concerns on the current approach towards a treaty. The UK values the participation of civil society organisations in these negotiations.

Iran: Demonstrations

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government plans to provide (a) political advocacy and (b) consulate-style support to protestors detained in Iran.

David Rutley: The UK supports protestors by ensuring that the Iranian regime is held to account for its brutal response to the demonstrations following the tragic death of Mahsa Amini. We have summoned Iran's most senior diplomat in the UK five times since protests began. We have imposed sanctions on over 40 leading political, judicial and security officials. We worked with partners to successfully remove Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women and supported a Human Rights Council resolution to establish a UN investigation into the regime's appalling human rights violations. We have called on Iran to immediately ends its shocking use of the death penalty against protesters. We continue to offer consular support to all British nationals in Iran where they need our assistance.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps: EU Countries

Ruth Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with her EU counterparts on the potential impact of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on peace and security in Europe.

David Rutley: The Iranian regime, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), poses a persistent threat to the peace and security of Europe. Since January 2022, there have been at least 10 threats by Iran to kidnap or kill British or UK-based individuals. The recent transfers of UAVs to Russia for use in Ukraine is yet another facet of this threat. HMG works closely with European partners to counter and deter malign Iranian activity in the UK and overseas. We have sanctions designations on over 300 Iranian individuals and entities including the IRGC in its entirety.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation homes have had issues reported with (i) heating and (ii) hot water since April 2022.

Alex Chalk: I will write to the right hon. Member with the requested information shortly.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2022 to Question 111519 on Armed Forces: Housing, whether a property is required to have an investigation carried out by a professional surveyor on behalf of (a) VIVO or (b) Amey for (i) damp or (ii) mould before it can be ruled out of allocation to Service families.

Alex Chalk: A property is not required to have an investigation carried out by a professional surveyor before it can be ruled out for allocation to Service families. Any evidence of damp and mould would be sufficient. That could come from reports from the previous residents or from visual inspection by staff involved in preparing or assuring the home for Move In, as well as from a professional survey. A professional survey would then be required to determine what work is required to resolve the problem and make the home suitable for allocation. The home should not then be allocated until the recommended works have been completed.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation homes have been left without (i) heating and (ii) hot water for more than 24 hours in the latest period for which data is available.

Alex Chalk: Service Family Accommodation (SFA) No home should be left without any form of heating or hot water for more than 24 hours. Where a fault with the permanent heating system cannot be rectified within this timeframe, alternative forms of heating and sources of hot water, or alternative accommodation, should be provided. Total loss of permanent heating is classed as an Urgent task during the heating season (October to April). The Acceptable Level of Performance (the minimum contracted standard) for Urgent reactive maintenance response is 48 hours to respond and rectify the problem. Therefore, data is compiled against that timeframe rather than for 24 hours. (i) As at 12 January 2023, I can confirm that 43 out of a total of 47,894 Service Family Accommodation properties are experiencing total loss of permanent heating, over the ALP of 48 hours. Measures have been put in place to provide them with temporary heating or temporary accommodation as appropriate. (ii) Information on hot water loss is currently not recorded in the format requested. However, I can confirm that in the month of December 2022, VIVO carried out at total of 164 hot water repairs and as at 13 January 2023, Amey had 1 Service Family Accommodation property which had experienced hot water loss for over 48 hours. Single Living Accommodation (SLA) SLA is managed by a number of different Maintenance Management Organisations (MMOs) across the MOD estate. As a result, data to provide a complete estate wide response is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2022 to Question 111519 on Armed Forces: Housing, for what reasons his Department does not hold data on (a) reports of and (b) investigations into (i) damp and (ii) mould in single living accommodation.

Alex Chalk: As I confirmed to the right hon. Member in answer to Question 111519, data is held on reports of, and investigations into damp and mould, but not centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Weapons

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2022 to Question 109432 on Ajax Vehicles: Weapons, whether the cannons delivered to his Department as part of the Cased Telescopic Cannon programme and not be fitted to Ajax armoured vehicles will be fitted to any other armoured vehicles in use by the Armed Forces.

Alex Chalk: The Army will retain a quantity of the surplus cannons to provide spares for the cannons in the Ajax fleet. There are no current plans to integrate the cannon onto any other armoured vehicle, but the Army continues to evaluate its options.

Australia: Nuclear Submarines

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when a decision will be taken on the design of the submarines built for Australia as part of the AUKUS agreement.

Mr Ben Wallace: Australia has requested our help in acquiring a nuclear-powered submarine capability, and we are using the trilateral 18-month scoping period, initiated in September 2021, to establish exactly what the best way is to meet Australia's capability requirement. As the three AUKUS Defence Ministers agreed at the inaugural AUKUS Defence Ministerial in December 2022, AUKUS states are making good progress identifying an optimal pathway. The scoping period is due to conclude in early 2023.

Warrior Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) status and (b) out of service date of the Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle is; and what plans his Department has for the (i) disposal and (ii) export of these vehicles.

Alex Chalk: The intent remains to withdraw Warrior from service from 2025. Current capabilities, which include Warrior, will remain effective until new concepts and capabilities are introduced into service throughout the decade.No final decision has been made by the Army on the sale or recycling of any surplus assets. However, the Army and the Defence Equipment Sales Authority are currently engaged on potential disposal opportunities.

Air Force: Training

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the average time between completing the WSOp(ALM) course and starting the Voyager OCU.

James Heappey: The average time between completing the Weapons System Operator Air Load Master course and starting the Voyager Operational Conversion Unit during the past 12 months is 19 weeks.

Afghanistan: Refugees

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) A400M, (b) C-17, (c) C-130J and (d) Voyager aircraft were involved in Operation Pitting.

James Heappey: Two C130J, seven C-17, four A400M and seven Voyager airframes were used during Operation PITTING in support of the evacuation of Afghan citizens and the UK military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Ajax Vehicles

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Ajax vehicles have been manufactured and completed in the last 12 months.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Ajax vehicles are unusable because they are awaiting the outcome of testing.

Alex Chalk: General Dynamics Land Systems (UK) completed 41 vehicle production runs in 2022. This included a mix of newly produced vehicles (19) and an uplift of earlier build standard vehicles (22). Some of these vehicles will support Reliability Growth Trials and ongoing Verification and Validation testing of the integrated vehicle. The use of vehicles held by the Ministry of Defence is limited to specific activities, for example for maintenance purposes, in accordance with strict safety restrictions. The exception is for those vehicles being used under specific safety controls for trials and Verification and Validation testing and that have had the noise and vibration modifications incorporated.

Ajax Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the prospective role of the AJAX AFV has changed in light of the lessons learnt from the war in Ukraine.

Alex Chalk: Ajax remains fit for its intended role at the heart of the Army’s plan for a modernised fleet of armoured vehicles under Future Soldier. Future Soldier will deliver a modernised warfighting division by 2030, built around a digitally networked combination of Ajax, Boxer, Challenger 3, AH64E, long range precision fires and un-crewed aerial systems.

Challenger Tanks: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to procure additional active protection systems as part of the Challenger 3 programme.

Alex Chalk: Sufficient Active Protection Systems will be purchased to meet the necessary readiness requirements for the Challenger 3 fleet.

Ministry of Defence: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2022 to Question 106391, how many purchases of (a) travel, (b) stationery, and (c) other goods and services, with a value less than £500 were made against his Department’s budget through a Government procurement card in 2021.

Alex Chalk: During 2021 the number of individual transactions using physically held and lodged Electronic Purchasing Cards (previously known as Government Procurement Cards) with a value of less than £500 were as follows:a) Travel: 449,388b) Stationery: 10,207*c) Other Goods and Services: 144,489* This figure covers the period from August 2021, when Barclays replaced Nat West as the Electronic Purchasing Card provider. Line-item information for stationery purchases prior to that date is not held by the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence: Waste

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many tonnes of food waste were produced from his Departmental estate in financial year (a) 2021/22 and (b) 2022/23 up to the end of December 2022.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Food waste produced from Ministry of Defence (MOD) estates in financial year (FY) 2021-22 was 5,485 tonnes.The FY 2022-23 figure up to the end of December 2022 is not currently complete as it is subject to data assurance processes. However, a full set of MOD figures will be included in the Defra Greening Government Commitment Report covering 2022-23.The figures represent waste disposed of under European Waste Catalogue Reference 20 01 08 (Biodegradable and Kitchen Waste).In support of the Greening Government Commitments (GGC), MOD Officials are working closely with its catering contractor to identify ways of reducing food waste in catering facilities on defence sites.

Ministry of Defence: Remote Working

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of their Department’s employees work from home at least one day a week.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence (MOD), along with other Government Departments, is committed to Smarter Working. “Future Workplace” is the MOD’s interpretation of the wider government Smarter Working programme. We have not imposed quotas about time spent on-site versus time spent working remotely but people typically work remotely more than ever before (as a broad average this could be 40-60% of time remote, for some this will be more and for others less). This will be dependent upon the activity and outcomes to be delivered. All employees agree their working location with their local line management. Details of Departmental headquarters’ occupancy are published on a regular basis and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-headquarters-occupancy-data

Armed Forces: Pay

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an estimate of the cost to his Department of a 1 percent rise in armed forces salaries.

Dr Andrew Murrison: A one percent increase in Armed Forces salaries is currently forecast to cost circa £120 million per year. This includes direct pay costs, SCAPE (Superannuation Contributions Adjusted for Past Experience), ERNIC (Earnings Related National Insurance Contributions), and other headcount related costs such as allowances.

Ministry of Defence: Written Questions

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of (a) ordinary and (b) named-day written questions their Department answered on time in 2022.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The proportion of ordinary and named-day written Parliamentary questions answered on time in 2022 by the Ministry of Defence is given in the following table: Question TypeDue For AnswerAnswered on TimeNamed-Day1,3521,226 (91%)Ordinary Written1,9961,879 (96%)Total3,1053,105 (94%)

Armed Forces: Health

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November to Question 90747 on Armed Forces: Health, if he will break down the percentage of Armed Forces personnel classed as medically (a) non-deployable and (b) limited deployable by service branch for each year since 2010.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The following table provides the number (n) and percentages of UK Armed Forces personnel, broken down by service, with a Medical Deployability Standard of Medically Limited Deployable (MLD) and Medically Non Deployable (MND), as at 1 April of each year from 2010 to 2022. Royal NavyArmyRAF MLDMNDMLDMNDMLDMNDDaten%n%n%n%n%n%1 April 20101,8435.2%2,9388.3%14,78614.5%6,7366.6%1,4723.7%3,9419.8%1 April 20111,9955.6%2,8828.1%15,21715.0%6,9526.9%1,6164.0%3,9669.9%1 April 20121,7865.4%2,8668.6%14,31914.5%7,4807.6%1,5614.1%3,86510.1%1 April 20131,8255.8%2,6978.6%12,23713.0%8,0218.5%1,4024.0%3,63410.3%1 April 20141,7325.7%2,8599.4%10,66712.2%7,9389.1%1,4124.3%3,59910.8%1 April 20151,8466.1%2,8409.4%10,12212.3%8,24610.0%1,4334.5%3,46110.9%1 April 20161,9326.5%2,8929.7%10,00112.5%8,30810.4%1,6185.2%3,62211.7%1 April 20172,0446.9%2,7229.2%9,97112.7%7,89010.1%1,8456.0%3,30410.7%1 April 20182,0326.9%2,7629.4%10,00513.0%6,9079.0%1,9526.4%3,32110.9%1 April 20192,1457.3%2,8649.8%9,96413.3%6,7028.9%2,1397.1%3,48011.6%1 April 20202,2797.8%2,93010.1%9,43412.8%6,6679.0%2,3107.8%3,67512.4%1 April 20212,3968.1%2,8999.8%8,93711.6%6,4478.4%2,3998.0%3,45511.5%1 April 20222,3067.7%3,27911.0%9,38812.2%7,6009.8%2,4588.2%3,88413.0% The figures provided are for full time trained (Royal Navy and RAF), trade trained (Army) and serving against requirement personnel in service. This includes Reserve Forces personnel filling Regular posts whilst serving on Full Time Reserve Service. The figures do not include other Reserve, civilian, foreign service or non-UK military personnel.The figures for the Royal Navy includes both the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Poseidon P-8 aircraft have been delivered to the RAF in each year since the receipt of the first aircraft.

Alex Chalk: The RAF Poseidon MRA1 fleet comprises nine aircraft. The number of aircraft delivered per financial year is given in the table below: Financial YearNumber of aircraft delivered2019-2022020-2132021-224Total9

HMS Collingwood: Repairs and Maintenance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2023 to Question 113210 on HMS Collingwood: Repairs and Maintenance, how many of the maintenance issues related to heating and hot water reported at HMS Collingwood since February 2022 resulted in a lack of hot water for 24 hours and more.

Alex Chalk: Across the 180 buildings on site at HMS Collingwood, including office buildings, there have been a total of 126 maintenance issues reported since February 2022 that have resulted in a lack of hot water for 24 hours and more. Work orders include a lack of hot water to individual taps.

National Shipbuilding Office: Staff

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people are employed by the National Shipbuilding Office.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget is for the National Shipbuilding Office.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what programmes the National Shipbuilding Office partakes in.

Alex Chalk: The National Shipbuilding Office (NSO) is an independent office of the Ministry of Defence (MOD). It currently employs 25 people and one industry secondee. The annual budget of the NSO for financial year 2021-22 is £2,534,175 which is drawn from the MOD, Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, Cabinet Office, Department for Transport, Department for Education and Department for International Trade.The NSO was established to provide strategic oversight of all of the Government's interests in shipbuilding and drive transformative change within the sector. To achieve this, the NSO engages with colleagues across Government and industry on all procurement programmes listed in the 30 Year Cross-Government Shipbuilding Pipeline in the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSbS) Refresh to ensure the principles of the strategy are being considered throughout the process. The NSO also plays a key role in driving the policies and interventions outlined in the strategy, for example the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions and the UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce, in order to promote growth across the entire UK shipbuilding sector. More information on the roles and responsibilities of the NSO can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/national-shipbuilding-office.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Armed Forces personnel have been involved in Operation Isotrope each month since its inception.

James Heappey: On average approximately 210 personnel are engaged on operation ISOTROPE at any time. This has remained broadly constant for the duration of the operation with only small fluctuations when there are personnel changeovers.

Department for Work and Pensions

Paralympic Games: Visits Abroad

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department’s publication of ministerial transparency data for the period July to September 2021, what the cost to his Department was of the accommodation, meals and other expenses, excluding air travel, incurred by his predecessor when visiting Tokyo for the Paralympic Games from 23 to 26 August 2021.

Mims Davies: The former Secretary of State has in her published hospitality returns that the British Paralympic Association paid for her tickets and hospitality as part of the official delegation. The only expenses incurred by the department were £190.34 for airport transfers and £28.00 for Overseas Incidental Expenses. DWP transparency data can be found here.

Department for Work and Pensions: Waste

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many tonnes of food waste were produced from his Departmental estate in Financial Year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 up to 31 December 2022.

Mims Davies: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in line with the Greening Government Commitments (GGC) has committed to measure and report on food waste, for estates with over 50 full time equivalent staff and or over 500m2 floor area offering a food service. Annual reporting was delayed due to Covid-19. The requested information for 2021-2022 will be published in the GGCs Annual Report for 2021-2022, due later this year. The data for April 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022 will be published in the Annual Report covering 2022-2023.

Department for Work and Pensions: Remote Working

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of their Department’s employees work from home at least one day a week.

Mims Davies: As a department we do not capture figures for employees working from home at least one day a week. We do however record figures for employees who attend the office. Our Hybrid working policy is minimum of 40% of their time in the office. As a department have headquarters utilisation data published here. The Total DWP on a given day, the average figures for people who were working and were in an office are as follows: (Staff that are not working in the office, can either be working remotely or from home). Q2 2022/23DWP Total – 59.4% Q3 2022/23DWP Total – 60.3%

Universal Credit: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value of the average monthly deduction was from Universal Credit payments in Wales in 2022.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total value was of all deductions from Universal Credit payments in Wales in 2022.

Guy Opperman: The information requested will be available in late 2023.

Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2023 to Question 117740 on Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations, if she will publish a breakdown of the audit assessment grades given to (a) Atos and (b) Capita for Personal Independent Payments assessments in each year since 2018.

Tom Pursglove: Referring to our previous answer to PQ88966, we currently have no plans to publish audit results for Independent Assessment Services (IAS)/Atos and Capita. This includes publishing a breakdown of audit assessment grades given for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments. Provider performance is measured across a range of service level agreements (SLAs) setting out the department's expectations for service delivery. These include quality, performance delivery targets and customer experience. When requested in Parliamentary Questions and Freedom of Information requests, we do publish all the relevant data available. The monthly quality audit performance against the SLA target for IAS and Capita for the period January 2014 to April 2022 has already been published as part of the answer to PQ26035.

Access to Work Programme: Disability

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reform the Access to Work scheme for disabled people including introducing portable passports.

Tom Pursglove: Access to Work is transforming the service it provides and is working to deliver a modern, efficient, and accessible digital service that provides an improved user experience. A key part of this transformation will be the development of a new digital online portal that will let users claim their grant online, view previously submitted claims and the balance of the grant remaining. The online application and renewal journeys are also being redesigned to deliver a more usable, inclusive service that provides improved clearance times and greater efficiency. In May 2022, a new Health Adjustment Passport was rolled out across Jobcentres to support disabled jobseekers enabling more structured conversations about their disability and in work support needs with their work coach and potential employers. This initiative is raising the visibility of in-work support, supporting Access to Work applications by reducing the need for an assessment, and making it easier to move between employment opportunities. In 2022, an Adjustment Passport pilot was delivered by Manchester Metropolitan University, Wolverhampton University and Kings College London to support the transition between education and employment. The evaluation has been published by the universities, and the findings will inform future roll out of the passport. The pilot has now been expanded to young disabled people on Department for Education training programmes.

Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his Answer of 11 January 2023 to Question 117740 on Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations, what proportion of Personal Independence Payment assessments carried out by (a) Atos and (b) Capita were audited by his Department in each year since 2018.

Tom Pursglove: The proportion of Personal Independence Payment assessments carried out by (a) Independent Assessment Services (IAS)/Atos and (b) Capita that were audited by the department in each year since 2018, is shown in the table below: (a) IAS (ATOS)20182019202020212022Percentage Audited (%)1.61.72.01.91.6 (b) Capita20182019202020212022Percentage Audited (%)2.62.63.03.02.4 Please note The number of audited assessments is shown as a proportion of completed assessments carried out by the assessment providers.The proportion shown for the year 2022 only includes data from January 2022 to November 2022, as the data for December 2022 is not yet available.Although the proportions being audited between IAS and Capita are different, the sample sizes used are designed to ensure the results give the same level of accuracy and margin of error across each provider contractual area.The above data regarding completed assessments is derived from contractual management information produced by the assessment providers.The above data regarding number of assessments audited is derived from contractual management information produced by the Independent Audit Team.The above data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to tackle benefit fraud.

Tom Pursglove: We take all fraud very seriously. Our Fraud Plan, Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System, published on 19 May 2022, sets out our approach and explains how the additional investment is allowing us to recruit 1,400 more staff into our counter-fraud teams, establish a new 2,000-strong team dedicated to reviewing the circumstances of large volumes of the Universal Credit caseload over the next 5 years and develop enhanced data analytics as a means of preventing and detecting fraud and error. More information on our Fraud Plan, can be found here: Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) This work is supported by two tranches of additional investment totalling around £900m, which will help prevent a further £2.4bn of loss by 2024/25. This investment includes money allocated via the Autumn Statement, which will help prevent abuse of the system and drive forward our UC case checks. Collectively, this builds on the existing work and measures DWP has in place to address overpayments, with savings from the correction and prevention of fraud and error totalling £2 billion last year.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Clothing: Sustainable Development

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help fashion companies become more sustainable.

Rebecca Pow: The Government's 2018 Resources & Waste Strategy for England identified textiles as a priority sector for action, due to significant waste and environmental impacts. A key part of the strategy is working with industry to reduce their environmental impact and become more sustainable.Our SCAP 2020 programme, delivered by our partner WRAP, supported signatories to reduce their water and carbon footprints per tonne of clothing by 18.2% and 21.6% respectively (between 2012 and 2020).In 2021 we funded Textiles 2030, a new ambitious programme with signatories representing more than 62% of all clothing placed on the UK market. Targets include a 50% reduction in carbon footprint of new products and 30% reduction in water footprint, both by 2030.Complementing this, we are considering what framework of policy options could best help reduce textiles and fashion waste, potentially using a range of powers from our landmark Environment Act 2021.

Air Pollution: Pollution Control

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has taken steps to facilitate cross-departmental collaboration on tackling air pollution.

Rebecca Pow: The Secretary of State is working across Government to tackle air pollution.

Roads: Shrewsbury

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Environment Agency on its plans to meet Shropshire Council representatives to discuss the proposed Shrewsbury North West Relief Road.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency, as a statutory consultee, has been involved in conversations with Shropshire Council and its representatives for at least three years. The Environment Agency has also engaged comprehensively through its pre-application service to advise on the appropriate level of environmental assessment required to help enable the Council to make an informed decision. It has offered detailed advice on several critical matters that could affect both the project and the town of Shrewsbury. These include protection of the water resource aquifer used by Severn Trent Water to provide water supply, potential flood risk impact and storage compensation, and potential impact on existing biodiversity (including recommendations for net gain to be included). This engagement is ongoing as confirmed in the recent conversations between the hon. Member, Shropshire Council officials and Environment Agency staff.

Hazardous Substances: EU Law

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that new additions to the EU’s Substances of Very High Concern Candidate List are assessed promptly UK REACH once added to the EU list.

Rebecca Pow: Defra, together with the technical specialists at the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency, monitor the European Chemicals Agency's (ECHA's) work to introduce new substances of very high concern to the EU REACH Candidate List. Where this work is relevant for Great Britain, we will assess the scientific evidence and ECHA's rationale for taking this regulatory step. If inclusion on the UK REACH Authorisation List would be an effective risk management measure for the substance, we will take action to recommend it for inclusion on the UK Candidate List of substances of very high concern.Consultancy Contracts  (xlsx, 17.6KB)

Air Pollution: Pollution Control

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, What steps she is taking to improve the (a) monitoring and (b) reporting of air pollution.

Rebecca Pow: There are currently over 500 monitoring sites across the UK, made up of 14 networks measuring a range of pollutants, which provide information to the public. These are subject to continuous review to ensure that they remain fit for purpose and deliver on public expenditure at good value As part of our work to assess progress towards the new PM2.5 targets, we have already invested £1m to expand the PM2.5 monitoring network in 2021/22. By the end of 2025 we will have invested a further £10m to at least double the size of the original PM2.5 network.

Drinking Water: E. coli and MRSA

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to take to ensure drinking water is not contaminated by antibiotic-resistant strains of E. coli and staphylococcus aureus.

Rebecca Pow: Drinking water in England is very high quality. The Drinking Water Inspectorate is the regulator for drinking water quality, which is regulated through the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016. These include strict standards for microbiology to protect public health from pathogens, together with a general requirement for water to be wholesome. The safety of drinking water is confirmed through regular sampling programmes, and any breaches are investigated and enforcement action taken when necessary. Water companies adopt a water safety planning approach, in line with WHO advice. Risks are identified, reported to the Inspectorate, and mitigated before they lead to any deterioration in quality or impact on consumers Drinking water is treated in England and disinfected to protect consumers. Disinfection is highly effective against viruses and bacteria, including E. coli and staphylococcus aureus, and is not affected by anti-microbial resistance, because it relies on a different inactivation process, either using chlorine or UV disinfection.

Air Pollution: Public Health

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a public awareness campaign on the health impacts and causes of air pollution.

Rebecca Pow: Defra is currently conducting a holistic review of the way we communicate air quality information to the public. This will ensure the public is provided with timely and relevant information about air pollution, the actions people can take to limit their personal exposure, the impacts of air pollution on their health, and their own influence on air quality. The findings of the review will support the development of future public facing air quality information.

Hazardous Substances: EU Law

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will adopt EU risk management decisions on hazardous substances during the transitional period given for substances registered under EU REACH and transferred into UK REACH.

Rebecca Pow: As an independent jurisdiction, the UK must make its own assessments of chemical risks and policy options to address them.We continue to closely monitor international developments, and work with a wide range of stakeholders to establish priorities for further monitoring, evidence-gathering and regulatory action.

Flood Control

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce development on floodplains and (b) help people who live in at risk areas adapt to flooding.

Rebecca Pow: The Government's National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains. Where development needs to be in locations where there is a risk of flooding as alternative sites are not available, local planning authorities and developers should ensure development is appropriately flood resilient and resistant, safe for its users for the development's lifetime, and will not increase flood risk overall. In 2020/21, 97% of all planning applications were in line with Environment Agency advice on flood risk. In July 2021, the Government published a review of policy for development in areas at flood risk. The review found that there are robust measures in place to protect people and property from flooding and identified opportunities to further strengthen the system.However, the Government is taking forward new actions in response to these findings. In July 2021 the Government made changes to strengthen environmental protections in the NPPF including some aspects of planning policy concerning flood risk. In August 2022, the Government published significantly updated planning guidance on flood risk and coastal change to help councils take climate change into consideration and make more informed decisions on whether a new development should go ahead. The Government is committed to creating a nation that is more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk. This includes supporting actions which can better prepare people and communities against risk, for example by issuing flood warnings, designing and adapting properties and infrastructure so there is less damage and disruption, and creating the right conditions to enable affordable insurance to help with recovery. The Government's £200 million Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Fund is supporting local authorities, businesses and communities to test and demonstrate innovative practical resilience actions in their area. The wide range of innovative projects includes apps alerting residents to flooding, actions to improve drainage and schemes to protect vital sand dune beaches. Other elements of the programme include the Coastal Transitional Accelerator Programme and the four adaptive pathways to support work in the Thames and Humber estuaries, the Severn Valley and Yorkshire to trial and develop ways of planning ahead and making wise investment choices for the decades to come in face of the long-term uncertainties brought by climate change.

Flood Control

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to protect (a) towns and (b) villages from future flooding events.

Rebecca Pow: The Government announced in March 2020 that the amount invested in flood and coastal erosion schemes would be doubled in England to £5.2 billion between 2021 and 2027, providing around 2,000 flood defences to better protect communities across England. Every English region is forecast to receive more investment in flood and coastal defences in this programme compared to the previous 2015 to 2021 investment programme. The previous programme invested £2.6 billion in more than 850 flood defence projects, better protecting 314,000 homes and thousands of businesses.In July 2022, government announced the creation of a new Frequently Flooded Allowance to support communities that have experienced repeated flooding. The ring-fenced £100 million allowance, which is part of the £5.2 billion investment, seeks to address some of the specific challenges faced by frequently flooded communities, particularly those that are smaller and more dispersed and therefore struggle to secure the funding they need to improve their resilience to flooding.We are also providing additional funding of £200 million over six years to help over 25 local areas to take forward wider innovative actions that improve their resilience to flooding and coastal erosion, and we are investing an additional £170 million to accelerate the building of 23 flood schemes across the country.Flood infrastructure is eligible for funding from the government's Levelling Up Round 2 Fund, Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund, where that infrastructure meets the wider objectives of the Fund. These Funds can be used to support local partners to meet their flood and coastal erosion risk management commitments.

Air Pollution: Europe

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the EMEP Status Report entitled Transboundary particulate matter, photo-oxidants, acidifying and eutrophying components, 1/2022, published on 29 September 2022.

Rebecca Pow: UK representatives attended the Eighth Joint Session of the EMEP Steering Body and Working Group on Effects meeting in September, where a summary of the report's findings were presented. We will consider the results from the report and look forward to the future work carried out by the co-operative programme for monitoring and evaluation of long-range transmission of air pollutants in Europe (EMEP).

Fly-tipping

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps the simplify the process of reporting fly-tipping incidents.

Rebecca Pow: Fly-tipping incidents should be reported to the relevant local authority. This can be done by visiting the local authority's website. Individuals can find help on identifying the relevant local authority webpage on Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/report-flytippingThere are also several mobile reporting apps available which allows members of the public to report fly-tipping incidents to their local council. We are developing a fly-tipping toolkit in partnership with the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group and an upcoming part of the toolkit will cover the use of new technology to report fly-tipping including how reporting apps can be best utilised by local authorities.

Agriculture: Water

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is her policy to maintain the 30 March 2022 guidance on the Farming Rules for Water for the next twelve months.

Rebecca Pow: Defra have committed to review the statutory guidance, issued to the Environment Agency on the application of the Farming Rules for Water, by September 2025. This is to ensure that it continues to serve its function and reflect the priorities and best practice of the time.

Factory Farming: Antimicrobials

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential risk to human health of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria polluting rivers from factory farms.

Rebecca Pow: Antimicrobial usage (AMU) is a key driver influencing the occurrence and emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The degree of intensification of farm production systems can have a bearing on AMU, but that is not necessarily the case. Intensive production systems can involve high health status livestock with high biosecurity to prevent entry of disease and consequently can have low AMU. We are researching the pathways for AMR transmission in the environment to inform future monitoring. A cross-departmental project called Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and the Environment (PATH-SAFE) was established in 2021. It brings together the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Environment Agency, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) to understand how pathogens and 'Superbugs' - or Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) - is spread. PATH-SAFE contains a workstream focused on AMR prevalence in three river catchments and this work will strengthen our understanding of AMR in the environment, including the relative importance of different sources, transmission routes and, the implications for people, animals, food and ecosystems. This will enable us to increase public awareness and inform effective control measures to protect human and animal health and the ecosystem, through a better understanding of the transmission pathway by which resistance develops and  spreads.

Pollution: Research

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating funds for research on the relationship between air and water pollution.

Rebecca Pow: Defra continue to keep our research needs under review to ensure a robust, evidence-based approach to policy. At present Defra has not made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating funds for further research on the relationship between air and water pollution.

Pollution: Research

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will consider the potential merits of establishing a commission on (a) air pollution, (b) water pollution and (c) potential relationships between different types of pollution.

Rebecca Pow: Defra takes an evidence-led approach to policy development, and engages with the academic community on an ongoing basis. This includes Defra’s Air Quality Expert Group and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Defra does not consider that a commission on air and water pollution is necessary at this time.

Pollution: West Yorkshire

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has conducted any research into (a) air pollution, (b) water pollution and (c) potential relationships between different types of pollution in West Yorkshire in the past five years.

Rebecca Pow: Defra assesses the relationship between air and water pollution pathways across a range of policy areas. For example, the impact assessment for the proposed Environment Act targets on water quality took into account possible air quality benefits and the newly launched slurry infrastructure grant schemes considered the impact on both water and air quality in the targeting of the scheme. Moreover, Defra has supported projects that improve the evidence base on these pollution pathways. This includes Defra funding for the Uplands Water Monitoring network which delivers a long-term data set on water quality and biodiversity in upland water bodies threatened by air pollution, climate change and land use, and the development of and updates to the Farmscoper tool which has the ability to look at impacts on both water and air quality as well as greenhouse gas emissions.We annually publish emissions data for all key air pollutants on a 1km grid square for all the UK in our National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI). We also assess the concentrations of air pollutants across the whole UK and publish this information in our Air Pollution in the UK report (https://naei.beis.gov.uk/https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/viewonline?year=2021_issue_1#report_pdf).

Pollution: Research

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has conducted any research into the relationship between air and water pollution in the last 12 months.

Rebecca Pow: Defra assesses the relationship between air and water pollution pathways across a range of policy areas. For example, the impact assessment for the proposed Environment Act targets on water quality took into account possible air quality benefits and the newly launched slurry infrastructure grant schemes considered the impact on both water and air quality in the targeting of the scheme. Moreover, Defra has supported projects that improve the evidence base on these pollution pathways. This includes Defra funding for the Uplands Water Monitoring network which delivers a long-term data set on water quality and biodiversity in upland water bodies threatened by air pollution, climate change and land use, and the development of and updates to the Farmscoper tool which has the ability to look at impacts on both water and air quality as well as greenhouse gas emissions.We annually publish emissions data for all key air pollutants on a 1km grid square for all the UK in our National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI). We also assess the concentrations of air pollutants across the whole UK and publish this information in our Air Pollution in the UK report (https://naei.beis.gov.uk/https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/viewonline?year=2021_issue_1#report_pdf).

Deposit Return Schemes

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to bring forward the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme to 2023.

Rebecca Pow: Further details on when a Deposit Return Scheme will be introduced will be set out in the Government response to last year's consultation. We are working towards publication shortly.

Air Pollution: Pollution Control

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to publish the clean air targets requested under the Environment Act 2021.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Act sets out a legal duty to publish two air quality targets. These were published on 16 December.

Canal and River Trust: Finance

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of guaranteeing funding for the Canal and River Trust for the next five years.

Rebecca Pow: The Government currently provides an annual grant of £52.6 million to the Canal and River Trust. The grant was agreed, and guaranteed until 2027, when the Trust was established as a private sector charity in 2012 to replace the publicly owned British Waterways.

Air Pollution: Pollution Control

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of setting the proposed air quality targets to 2030 instead of 2040.

Rebecca Pow: We have followed an evidence-based process working closely with internationally recognised experts to set air quality targets that are stretching but achievable. We have proposed targets for 2040 because this is when our evidence shows that, although challenging, they can be achieved everywhere. The measures required to meet 10 micrograms per cubic metre by 2030, would include action on solid fuel burning and reduction of traffic, which would have a disproportionate effect on individuals and small local businesses.

Food: Waste Disposal

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps to work with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) local authorities to (i) reduce and (ii) remove charges for food waste services.

Rebecca Pow: Food waste collections policy is determined by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 places a duty on waste collection authorities to arrange for the collection of household waste in their areas. There is currently no requirement for waste collection authorities to separately collect food waste. In accordance with section 45(3) of the Environmental Protection Act, waste collection authorities should not charge for the collection of household waste, unless it is allowed in regulations. Whereas waste collection authorities can charge to collect garden waste under the Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, they cannot charge to collect food waste. Where local authorities co-collect food and garden waste, they should be making sure that they are only charging to collect the garden waste. Local Authorities are independent bodies and are accountable to their electorate rather than to Ministers or government departments. Constituents should contact the Local Government Ombudsman if they believe their local authority is in breach of their statutory duties. We have recently taken steps to strengthen these powers. Measures introduced by the Environment Act 2021 will require all waste collection authorities in England to collect food waste separately at least weekly for free.

Flood Control: Infrastructure

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure flood resilience infrastructure is regularly (a) tested and (b) maintained.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency operates and maintains assets for flood and coastal risk management purposes with a value of £26 billion. These assets reduce the risk of flooding to 1.8 million households in England and provide an estimated reduction in annual average flood damages of £2.8 billion. In 2022/23 the Environment Agency is planning to spend £200m maintaining flood risk assets. The Environment Agency routinely inspect 240,000 of its own and other Risk Management Authority assets, with 175,000 assets inspected annually and others every 18 to 60 months depending on their flood risk classification. These inspections monitor the condition of assets, risk to public safety and ensure legal compliance. Asset repairs identified through inspection are prioritised to minimise potential flood risk. Where there is immediate danger of flood or risk to life, emergency repairs will be undertaken straight away. The Environment Agency also work with 3rd party asset owners to ensure the condition of their assets is understood and that repairs are undertaken as necessary. Environment Agency maintained flood and coastal risk management assets, such as access bridges, reservoirs, significant structures and gauging stations have regular specialist inspections and are regularly tested for correct operation. Details of the EA’s Asset Information and Maintenance Programme can be found on DATA.GOV.UK.

River Foss and River Ouse: Flood Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much planting has taken place in the Ouse and Foss catchment areas in each of the last 5 years.

Rebecca Pow: As part of the York 5 Year Plan programme of works tree mitigation, the Environment Agency (EA) has planted 392 trees to date in and around York. This includes 35 in winter 2020/21, 220 in winter 2021/22, and 137 so far in winter 2022/23. A further 375 trees are due to be planted in this winter’s planting season (up to March 2023).In November 2022, the EA planted approximately 4000 floodplain meadow plants in Rawcliffe Ings, helping restore approximately 12ha of floodplain meadow within this Site of Special Scientific Interest, establishing species that are either less abundant or produce seed outside of the hay collection season. The meadow planting is segregated into 15 planting areas, with relative wetness assessed based on their elevation. Plant species were selected according to their tolerance of waterlogging, with dry-loving plants in drier areas. Each area has been mapped using differential GPS, to track where specific species have been planted, helping to monitor success. This vital work will accompany a range of techniques that the EA is adopting to restore the floodplain meadow in this area, which will work alongside turf translocation, green hay spreading, brush harvesting and traditional cutting regimes to greatly expand this important habitat.The EA is also planning to plant an additional 710 trees and approximately 400m of hedgerow next winter (2023), along with specialist pot grown Tansy plants in Clifton Ings and ornamental planting in Museum Gardens.Limited tree planting has taken place yet in the wider Ouse or Foss catchments specifically related to the York 5 Year Plan programme of works, although the catchment has benefitted from localised tree planting associated with smaller scale flood risk and environmental projects.

Recycling: Standards

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce new recycling rate targets under new extended producer responsibility rules.

Rebecca Pow: Annual packaging waste recycling targets will be introduced under the new Ex-tended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations up until 2030. This is confirmed in the government response to the consultation on EPR, which can be found here Packaging and packaging waste: introducing Extended Producer Responsibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Fly-tipping

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle fly tipping.

Rebecca Pow: In recent years we have bolstered local authorities’ powers to tackle fly-tipping, introducing fixed penalty notices and strengthening the power to seize the vehicles of offenders. We have also provided £450,000 to help several councils purchase equipment to tackle fly-tipping, such as CCTV, and worked with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to produce a guide on how councils and others can present robust prosecutions that support tougher sentences.   We have committed to raising fly-tipping penalties in our manifesto and will be conducting research to support policy development in this area. We are also preparing a number of legislative reforms to tackle waste crime more broadly which should also help tackle fly-tipping. This includes reform of the waste carrier, broker, and dealer regime and the introduction of digital waste tracking, both of which we consulted on earlier this year. We believe it is important that local residents are able to dispose of their rubbish in a responsible manner and encouraged to do so. We have consulted on preventing charges for disposing of DIY waste at local tips and provided communication materials to help householders better understand their responsibilities under the household waste duty of care.

Nappies: Waste Disposal

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to develop a strategy to reduce waste from single use nappies following the publication of her Department's assessment of the environmental impacts of disposable and reusable absorbent hygiene products.

Rebecca Pow: Work on the environmental assessment of disposable and reusable nappies is nearly complete and peer review of the work is being finalised. No date has been set for publication. This work will help inform any future action by government and industry.

Hygiene: Waste Disposal

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she will publish her Department's assessment of the environmental assessment of disposable and reusable absorbent hygiene products.

Rebecca Pow: Work on the environmental assessment of disposable and reusable nappies is nearly complete and peer review of the work is being finalised. No date has been set for publication. This work will help inform any future action by government and industry.

Anaerobic Digestion

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of introducing new anaerobic digestion plants to create energy from food waste.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Act will require all local authorities in England to arrange for the collection of food waste for recycling. Our preference is for food waste to be separately collected for treatment by anaerobic digestion as this presents the best environmental outcome for the treatment of unavoidable food waste.In 2021 the Department for Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy launched the Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) to support the construction of new anaerobic digestion plants that inject biomethane to the gas grid. Developers must ensure that at least 50% of all biomethane by energy content is produced using waste or residue feedstocks. This will ensure that energy is reclaimed from food waste collected under Defra’s Recycling Consistency reforms.

Packaging: Recycling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will update its calculation of the impact on the Consumer Price Index of Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging.

Rebecca Pow: We published a detailed impact assessment (IA) in March 2022 alongside HM Government's response to the second consultation on Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) in March 2021. The IA set out the anticipated costs to households of pEPR, as well as the impact pEPR may have on the Consumer Price Impact (CPI). They IA and Government Response can be found here: Packaging and packaging waste: introducing Extended Producer Responsibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Countryside: Access

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to take steps to extend the right to roam to (a) woodlands, (b) watersides and (c) more downland; and if she will make a statement.

Trudy Harrison: The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 provides for a right to roam across open access land, giving the public a right of access to most areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin. We have no plans to change this. England has a fantastic network of footpaths and the public has the ‘right to roam’ over many areas of wild, open countryside We are working to complete the England Coast Path which, at around 2,700 miles, will be the longest waymarked and maintained coast walking route in the world. Over 2,000 miles have now been approved as England Coast Path, with nearly 800 miles already open. It will also create 250,000 hectares of new open access land within the coastal margin. We will also be creating a new National Trail across the North of England We do not plan to mandate that new woodlands have public access or introduce a right to roam across all woodlands. In the England Trees Action Plan, we committed to the provision of safe and appropriate public access in as many woodlands as possible through a suite of measures from updating Forestry Commission guidance through to plans to encourage improvements to the quality and permanency of existing access. This will include how we might support greater access for all abilities. We will also encourage more access provision through our woodland creation grants. We recently amended the England Woodland Creation Offer to offer a higher incentive for the provision of access to new woodlands, and made more applicants eligible to apply for funding for access.   We recognise that when open access land was originally mapped and new rights over it introduced in 2004-5, not all downland was mapped satisfactorily. We have already announced our intention to carry out a review of those maps, and work has begun to plan for this review. As part of the review, we will aim to improve our mapping of the downland landform, which is likely to mean that more areas of downland are identified and will become subject to access rights.

Rights of Way

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will make it their policy to expand the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to give a legal right of public access to rivers, woods and green belt land.

Trudy Harrison: We have no plans to change legislation as it is unnecessary to do so to encourage people to enjoy nature.

Trapping

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the devolved administrations on the potential merits of banning snares.

Trudy Harrison: Devolved Administrations are free to make their own laws regarding the use of snares.Since coming into post in October 2022, I have not held any conversations with Devolved Administrations in relation to changing the UK Government's policy on using snares in England.However, on Monday 9th January, in the adjournment debate "Make the use of free running-snares illegal for trapping wildlife", I set out my intention to such a discussion with the devolved administrations about their respective policies on snares. This will be set up by my officials at a mutually agreeable time.

Nature Conservation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department takes to protect endangered species in the UK.

Trudy Harrison: Species of conservation concern are provided robust legal protection, primarily through the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. The police are the main enforcement agency for this legislation and Defra has more than doubled its funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit to £1.2 million over the next three years to target wildlife crime priorities.The habitats of many endangered species are afforded statutory protection as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). We are committed to restoring 75% of our one million hectares of SSSIs by area to favourable condition by 2042, a key goal within our 25 Year Environment Plan. This will enable SSSIs to fully contribute to our Environment Act target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030.

Trapping

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report of the National Anti Snaring Campaign entitled A Review of the Use of Snares in the UK published in April 2022, whether he has made an assessment if the implication for her Department's policies of that reports conclusions on (a) non-target capture, (b) animal welfare and (c) prohibiting the use of snares.

Trudy Harrison: No assessment has yet been made of the implications for my Department's policies of the conclusions of the publication of the National Anti Snaring Campaign's 2022 report: A Review of the Use of Snares.

Tree Felling: Crime

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle illegal tree felling.

Trudy Harrison: All trees are subject to the tree felling controls defined in Part II of the Forestry Act 1967 (as amended). In most cases a licence for felling is required from the Forestry Commission to cut down trees, including as part of sustainable woodland management, but there are a number of exemptions to the need for a felling licence in the Act, such as for example the felling of most trees growing in a garden.When trees have been felled without a licence, and where it appears to the Commissioners that an offence had been committed, the Forestry Commission can serve a Restocking Notice to secure replanting, avoiding the need to seek a prosecution for the felling offence.If there is failure to comply with the requirements of a Restocking Notice, an Enforcement Notice will be served; this usually requires compliance with the prescription in the original Restocking Notice.Failure to comply with an Enforcement Notice is itself an offence and will result in the Forestry Commission seeking a prosecution for the non-compliance.Through the Environment Act 2021, new enforcement measures came into force on 1 January 2023. These allow further penalties to be applied when trees are felled illegally under the Forestry Act:Felling trees without a felling licence where one was required can now carry the penalty of an unlimited fine - replacing the previous limit of £2,500 or twice the value of the trees felled.Failure to comply with a Forestry Commission Enforcement Notice and a subsequent court-ordered Restocking Order (meaning any trees felled must be replanted) will put offenders at risk of imprisonment, in addition to an unlimited fine.Restocking Notices and Enforcement Notices will be listed on the Local Land Charges Register, making them visible to prospective buyers of the land - making clear the restocking requirements in place, and potentially reducing the land's value.

Biodiversity

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to maintain levels of biodiversity in the UK.

Trudy Harrison: Responsibility for biodiversity policy in the UK is devolved. In England we are taking unprecedented steps to maintain and increase biodiversity, not least by way of our world leading Environment Act, through which we have set new, legally binding targets to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and then reverse declines by 2042. This is complemented by further targets to reduce the risk of species extinction and restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat. The Act also introduced a powerful package of new policies and tools including Biodiversity Net Gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategies and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities which will work together to protect our native species. We have introduced significant new funding for nature to support these aims, including for woodland and peatland restoration, green recovery and landscape scale nature recovery, and we are developing new Environmental Land Management schemes that reward environmental benefits. Our updated Environmental Improvement Plan for England, required by the Environment Act, will be published by 31 January and will be delivery focused, setting out the actions that will drive us towards reaching our long-term targets and goals. It will also include interim targets to be achieved in the next 5 years We have also committed to protecting 30% of our land and sea by 2030 to better support and recover biodiversity. We have announced a landmark designation programme to help realise this, including the consideration of two new AONBs and creating a new Somerset Wetlands super National Nature Reserve that will protect 6,140 hectares of precious habitats.

National Park Authorities: Income

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to take steps to help support national park authorities to generate more income from commercial revenue.

Trudy Harrison: We recognise the challenges presented by sharply rising inflation, and are aware that National Park Authorities are considering options to manage current inflationary pressures. Defra has contributed more than £44m in grant funding to support the operation of Dartmoor National Park Authority since 2010. The Government remains committed to supporting our National Park Authorities and are working with them to generate more income from commercial revenue. We understand that this would be alongside the ongoing need for public funding to support essential local public services. Officials are in regular dialogue with the Chief Executive of the National Park Authorities on all of these issues.

Dartmoor National Park Authority: Finance

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department provided in funding for Dartmoor National Park Authority in each year since 2010.

Trudy Harrison: We recognise the challenges presented by sharply rising inflation, and are aware that National Park Authorities are considering options to manage current inflationary pressures. Defra has contributed more than £44m in grant funding to support the operation of Dartmoor National Park Authority since 2010. The Government remains committed to supporting our National Park Authorities and are working with them to generate more income from commercial revenue. We understand that this would be alongside the ongoing need for public funding to support essential local public services. Officials are in regular dialogue with the Chief Executive of the National Park Authorities on all of these issues.

Buildings: Environment Protection

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits to (a) property occupants and (b) the wider public of greater use of green roof systems; and if he will make it his policy to support the installation of green roofs.

Trudy Harrison: Government recognises the multiple benefits of green roofs and other well-designed green infrastructure, and committed in the 25 Year Environment Plan to introduce stronger new standards for green infrastructure. These will be published as part of a new Green Infrastructure Framework by Natural England in January 2023. Green infrastructure can contribute to nature recovery, make towns and cities more attractive places to live and work and improve people’s health and wellbeing.

Dartmoor National Park: Tourism

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the Dartmoor National Park Authority on the closure of the Princetown visitors centre.

Trudy Harrison: We recognise the challenges presented by sharply rising inflation, and are aware that National Park Authorities are considering options to manage current inflationary pressures. Defra has contributed more than £44m in grant funding to support the operation of Dartmoor National Park Authority since 2010. The Government remains committed to supporting our National Park Authorities and are working with them to generate more income from commercial revenue. We understand that this would be alongside the ongoing need for public funding to support essential local public services. Officials are in regular dialogue with the Chief Executive of the National Park Authorities on all of these issues.

Environment Protection

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to consult with (a) the general public and (b) relevant stakeholders on the Environmental Improvement Plan which is due to be finalised by 31 January 2023.

Trudy Harrison: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 13 December 2022 to the hon. Member for Newport West, PQ 106471.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her Department's publication of electronic purchasing card spending over £500 for February 2021, (a) how many mugs were purchased by Natural England from We Brand It on 15 February 2021, and (b) what branding was printed on those mugs.

Trudy Harrison: The Natural England Evidence Services Team issued team members with a mug as part of a reward and recognition award and a wellbeing morale boost recognising their hard work and commitment during lockdown. 170 mugs were ordered, with NE branding and a picture of St. Cwyfan’s Church, Anglesey which was the winning photo on a team wellbeing competition during lockdown.

Peat

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to take steps to promote alternative growing media to replace peat in the production of (a) ornamental and (b) edible crops.

Trudy Harrison: The Government recognises the progress already made in transitioning to peat-free alternatives. Nevertheless, some sectors within the horticulture industry are encountering particular challenges. Therefore, we consulted industry representatives to develop our planned time limited exemptions for the professional sector.We are currently co-funding with the horticultural industry monitoring of the composition of growing media (including peat) that is supplied for horticultural use. We are also working with the industry to continue to develop a Responsible Sourcing Scheme for Growing Media, which allows manufacturers and retailers to make informed choices of growing media inputs to amateur or retail products. Defra will continue to work with the industry to identify blockages and develop solutions to ending the use of peat and peat containing products.

Home Office

Biometric Residence Permits: Standards

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many biometric residence permits have been issued with an error in each of the last six months; what steps her Department is taking to ensure that biometric residence permits are not issued with errors; and if she will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: The information is not available publicly and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Home Office: Waste

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many tonnes of food waste were produced from her Departmental estate in Financial Year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 up to 31 December 2022.

Chris Philp: In line with the Greening Government Commitments the Home Office has committed to measure and report on food waste, for estates with over 50 FTE (full time equivalent staff) and or over 500m2 floor area offering a food service.The requested information for 2021-2022 will be published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report for 2021-2022, due later this year. The data for April 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022 will be published in the Annual Report covering 2022-2023.

Home Office: Remote Working

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of their Department’s employees work from home at least one day a week.

Chris Philp: The Home Office employs over 35,000 staff working across several large business areas including UK Border Force, HM Passport Office, UK Visas and Immigration and several other areas. Staff are employed across all parts of the UK as well as countries around the world doing a variety of policy and operational roles.The requirements for workplace attendance are managed at a local level in line with the Home Office Hybrid Working Policy. Under this, all staff are expected to attend the workplace within a framework of between 40%-100% of their contracted hours. Similar to other attendance requirements this is not centrally managed and is co-ordinated through the line management chain.Working from home is part of a suite of flexible working options which are non-contractual and flexible to meet the needs of the business and the individual. Collecting data on who can work from home would serve little purpose as our policy applies to all staff subject to the confines of their role.

Spiking: Wales

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment has she made of the trends of the number of spiking-related incidents in Wales in the last 12 months.

Miss Sarah Dines: The term spiking relates to crimes committed whereby the victim unknowingly ingests some type of drug or alcohol, generally through an injection or through having their drink or food tampered with.There are a number of crimes which police can create in these circumstances depending on the severity of the attack and the suspected intention of the perpetrator.Using these police recorded crime data from the four Welsh forces, the incidence of spiking related crimes has fallen during 2022 when compared to 2021. This is in line with a general fall in spiking related crimes across both England and Wales Police forces.

Animal Experiments: Licensing

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) new approach methodologies and (b) non-animal methods are considered as part of the licence approval process for animal use in science.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has she made of the potential merits of establishing an advisory independent committee, comprising of specialists in new approach methodologies, to review project license applications for animal testing prior to the granting of Home Office approval.

Miss Sarah Dines: The Home Office Regulator will only grant licences to use animals in science where there are no alternatives, where the number of animals used is the minimum needed to achieve the scientific benefit, and where the potential harm to animals is limited to that needed to achieve the scientific benefit. Applicants seeking a licence are required to robustly evidence their consideration of alternative methods.The Government is supporting and accelerating advances in biomedical science and technologies to reduce reliance on the use of animals in research. UK Research and Innovation provides core funding for the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), which works to drive the uptake of new methodologies, including alternatives to animals.The Government has no plans to establish an independent committee to review project licence applications.

Visas: Skilled Workers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken is for processing an application for certificates of sponsorship for overseas nationals waiting to start employment in the UK; what the size was of the caseload of those applications waiting to be processed as of 9 January 2023; and how many and what proportion of those cases have not been completed within the Department's targets for processing those applications.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office does not routinely publish data on applications for Certificates of Sponsorship for overseas nationals waiting to start employment in the UK.The Home Office Transparency data sets out how the Department is performing against its service standard. The latest published information can be found on the GOV.UK webpage at Sponsorship transparency data: Q3 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Refugees: Afghanistan

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghans have been resettled in the UK through the Afghan citizens’ resettlement scheme.

Robert Jenrick: The recent update to the published 'Afghan Resettlement: Operational Data', shows that, at 4th November 2022:22,833 individuals from Afghanistan have been brought to safety in the UK (since the end of June 2021).Of these, c6000 individuals arrived after Op Pitting - via Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) Pathway 1 and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).We have granted Indefinite Leave to Remain to 12,296 individuals across ACRS and ARAP, of which:- total ACRS Pathway 1 grants: 6,314- total ARAP grants: 5,982Work is underway to assure information relating to all the individuals relocated under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) on case working systems. Once this work concludes, further statistics on both schemes - including the number of people resettled under each - will be included in the published Immigration Statistics.

Windrush Lessons Learned Review

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on a programme of reconciliation events with members of the Windrush generation as recommended by the Windrush Lessons Learned Review.

Robert Jenrick: We understand the importance and value of engaging with communities impacted by the Windrush scandal through face-to-face engagement. The Home Office has held over 200 public engagement and outreach events across the country to raise awareness of the Windrush Schemes, including 120 one-to-one surgeries attended by Windrush Help teams to support people applying for documentation.We continue to work collaboratively with communities through the Windrush Community Fund launched in 2020 and have supported 27 community and grassroot organisations to provide promotional and outreach activity on the Windrush Schemes. On 20 September 2022, a new Community Engagement Fund was launched to bridge any remaining gaps in raising awareness of the Windrush Schemes, with a particular focus on also reaching those eligible from a non-Caribbean background.

UK Border Force: Glasgow Airport

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what was the weekly average number of operational staff deployed by UK Borders and Enforcement at Glasgow Airport from 25 October to 14 November 2021 to deal with the increase in workload created by the COP26 summit.

Robert Jenrick: For security reasons, we do not give out figures of how many staff are working at a given time or on a specific operational deployment. Border Force keeps its resourcing and staffing numbers under constant review in light of passenger arrival data provided by carriers and port operators.

UK Border Force: Dover

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force staff have been deployed on operational duties at Dover on Christmas Day in each of the last four calendar years; and whether her Department has been made arrangements to provide those staff with a Christmas meal in each of those years.

Robert Jenrick: For security reasons, we do not give out figures of how many staff are working at a given time or on a specific operational deployment. Border Force keeps its resourcing and staffing numbers under constant review in light of passenger arrival data provided by carriers and port operator including Christmas Day We can confirm no arrangements were made regarding the provision of Christmas meals to Border Force staff working in Dover on Christmas Day.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to proscribe the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Tom Tugendhat: While the UK Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review, we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.We have long been clear about our concerns over the malign activity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The UK maintains sanctions on over 300 Iranian individuals and entities covering human rights abuses, nuclear proliferation and terrorism. The Government has also imposed sanctions on the IRGC in its entirety and on several senior security and political figures in Iran, including senior commanders within the IRGC and its Basij force.

Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration: Publications

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on (a) reviewing the remit and role of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and (b) giving the Independent Chief Inspector more powers with regard to publishing reports, as recommended by the Windrush Lessons Learned Review.

Robert Jenrick: In March 2020 the then Home Secretary published Wendy Williams's Windrush Lessons Learned Review, which set out 30 recommendations for the department.A substantial amount of work has been done on considering options for delivering this recommendation, including discussions with external stakeholders around the function of the recommendation. We will keep the Home Affairs Select Committee updated on the progress of all the Wendy Williams recommendations.

Asylum: Afghanistan

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to reunite families separated as a result of leaving Afghanistan to seek asylum.

Robert Jenrick: We recognise that families can become separated because of the nature of conflict and the and manner in which people are often forced to flee their country. The refugee family reunion policy allows immediate family members, of those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country.The Government remains committed to providing protection for vulnerable people fleeing Afghanistan. However, the situation is extremely complex and presents us with significant challenges, including securing safe passage out of the country for those who want to leave and who are eligible for resettlement in the UK. This includes eligible family members of those resettled under the ARAP or ACRS.

Windrush Lessons Learned Review: Public Appointments

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made in establishing the position of Migrants Commissioner recommended in the Windrush Lessons Learned Review.

Robert Jenrick: In March 2020 the then Home Secretary published Wendy Williams’s Windrush Lessons Learned Review, which set out 30 recommendations for the department.A substantial amount of work has been done on considering options for delivering this recommendation, including discussions with external stakeholders around the function of the recommendation. We will keep the Home Affairs Select Committee updated on the progress of all the Wendy Williams recommendations.

Members: Correspondence

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to respond to the correspondence of 16 November 2022 from the hon. Member for North Tyneside.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office replied on 13 January 2023.

Members: Correspondence

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to correspondence about a constituent from the Hon. member for Basildon and Billericay dated (a) 29 September 2022, (b) 26 October 2022, (c) 21 November 2022 and (d) 22 December 2022, reference MPAM/0252841/22 and JB36437.

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will respond to the correspondence of (a) 21 September 2022, (b) 19 October 2022, (c) 16 November 2022 and (d) 21 December 2022 from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay regarding a constituent, reference JB38910.

Robert Jenrick: MPAM/0442456/22 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 11 January 2023.MPAM/0456786/22 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 11 January 2023.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Local Plans

James Daly: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Written Statement of 6 December 2022, HCWS416, on An Update on Levelling Up, whether his Department is taking steps to advise local authorities which are part-way through planning inspectorate examinations on their strategic frameworks and local plans.

Lucy Frazer: Due to my quasi-judicial role in the planning process I cannot comment on a specific local plan. It is the role of the independent Inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State, to test plans against current national policies through examination. The Government is consulting on its proposed approach to updating the National Planning Policy Framework until 2 March 2023. Any subsequent updates to policies and guidance are expected to be introduced later in the Spring, taking into account the responses received. At that stage, it will be for authorities with plans already submitted for examination, together with the Inspector, to determine how to proceed.

Social Rented Housing: Construction

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many social rent homes were built (a) in the last 12 months and (b) in 2021.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many council homes were built in (a) the last 12 months and (b) 2021.

Lucy Frazer: The number of new social rent homes delivered in England, broken down by new build and acquisitions, can be found in Live Table 1009 from this link. The number of new affordable housing delivered in England, including acquisitions, by local authorities can be found through the affordable housing supply open data, available through the same link.Data are collected and published by financial year, with the latest available data covering 2021-22.

Housing: Construction

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of new homes built in the last 12 months were classified as being under permitted development of pre-existing office blocks.

Lucy Frazer: Estimates of new homes delivered in England, in each year, classified as under permitted development of pre-existing office blocks and overall housing supply, from which proportions can be calculated, are shown in Live Table 120, here.Figures for UK are not centrally collated.

Buildings: Safety

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the developer contract for the remediation of high risk buildings will ensure that buildings meet the same standards of (a) structural safety and (b) fire safety as those that will be required by the new Building Safety Regulator.

Lee Rowley: The developer contract is being finalised and will be published shortly. We expect developers to remediate or mitigate life-critical fire-safety defects. We expect developers to assess their buildings using the relevant standards, including the standard methodology for external wall construction and cladding set out in in PAS9980:2022 and we expect developers to obtain sign-off that the works meet the relevant standards and comply with Building Regulations.The Building Safety Regulator will perform its statutory functions independently of the contract. The Regulator takes a risk-based approach to higher-risk buildings and will have regard to relevant industry standards.

Buildings: Safety

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will list any meetings he has held with disability campaign groups to discuss building safety since 25 October 2022, in particular on the impact on disabled people of living through remediation works.

Lee Rowley: We recognise the significant impact that building safety remediation works can have on residents living through them. The Secretary of State regularly meets with residents and campaign groups to hear directly from affected people on issues relating to building safety and remediation and we acknowledge the additional impacts these issues can have on those with disabilities.Officials met groups representing disabled residents in November to discuss the challenges disabled people face in living through remediation works and to discuss how best to engage with disabled residents going forward. I hope to arrange a meeting to hear directly from them on these important issues in the near future. Ministerial meetings will be recorded on the Department's website in the usual way.

Private Rented Housing

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposals within the policy paper entitled A fairer private rented sector, published in June 2022, CP 693, on (a) smaller landlords and (b) trends in the number of properties owned by smaller landlords.

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to reduce the size of the private rented sector relative to the social housing and private housing sectors.

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of a reduction in the size of the private rented sector on renters, including (a) students, (b) workers requiring short term accommodation and (c) low income families without local connections.

Felicity Buchan: The Renters Reform Bill will deliver a package of reforms for the Private Rented Sector. We are conducting a detailed impact assessment which will be published in due course.While the government is committed to helping people to own their own home, a healthy housing market is built upon the co-existence of a range of tenures, including the private rented sector, to meet individual needs and requirements The Private Rented Sector is an important part of the housing market for the 4.6 million households who live there.The department monitors the market and uses a range of data to support our understanding of the Private Rented Sector. This includes department-commissioned research, such as the annual English Housing Survey and the English Private Landlord Survey. We have carried out extensive engagement with stakeholders and we will continue to monitor the impact of our reforms on the sector.

Rented Housing: Reform

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on renters reforms.

Felicity Buchan: Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published on gov.uk.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Ukrainians have been housed under the Homes for Ukraine scheme since its introduction as of 6 January 2023.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of Ukrainians housed under the Homes for Ukraine scheme since its introduction remained in the same household beyond the initial six-month placement.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of Ukrainians housed under the Homes for Ukraine scheme have stayed in the same household beyond the initial 6-month period in Warwick and Leamington as of 9 January 2023.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of Ukrainians housed under the Homes for Ukraine scheme have moved out of their original sponsor household following the initial 6-month period in Warwick and Leamington constituency as of 9 January.

Felicity Buchan: We do not hold centrally comprehensive data outlining post-six-month accommodation arrangements for all guests.Data on arrivals under the Homes for Ukraine scheme can be accessed here.

Temporary Accommodation: West Yorkshire

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has had discussions with relevant voluntary non-governmental organisations on tackling the shortfall in available emergency accommodation in (a) Huddersfield, (b) Kirklees and (c) West Yorkshire in the last 12 months.

Felicity Buchan: The Department works closely with local authorities and voluntary organisations on the work to end rough sleeping, including the provision of emergency off-the-street accommodation where required.The Rough Sleeping Initiative is investing up to £500 million in funding to local authorities across England from April 2022 to March 2025. This includes funding up to 14,000 beds and 3,000 support staff this year. Further information on funding allocations can be found here.

Islamophobia

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of recent trends in levels of Islamophobic amongst the British public.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 94893 on 1 December 2022.

Taylor Wimpey: Standards

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the signing of the building safety repairs pledge by Taylor Wimpey, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of that company's performance in remediating life critical fire safety works in buildings over 11 metres that they (a) developed and (b) refurbished in the last 30 years in Putney constituency.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the signing of the building safety repairs pledge by Crest Nicholson, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of that company's performance in remediating life critical fire safety works in buildings over 11 metres that they (a) developed and (b) refurbished in the last 30 years in Putney constituency.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the signing of the building safety repairs pledge by Barratt Developments plc, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of that company's performance in remediating life critical fire safety works in buildings over 11 metres that they (a) developed and (b) refurbished in the last 30 years in Putney constituency.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the signing of the building safety repairs pledge by Bellway plc, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of that company's performance in remediating life critical fire safety works in buildings over 11 metres that they (a) developed and (b) refurbished in the last 30 years in Putney constituency.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the signing of the building safety repairs pledge by Persimmon, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of that company's performance in remediating life critical fire safety works in buildings over 11 metres that they (a) developed and (b) refurbished in the last 30 years in Putney constituency.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the signing of the building safety repairs pledge by Berkeley Group Holdings plc, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of that company's performance in remediating life critical fire safety works in buildings over 11 metres that they (a) developed and (b) refurbished in the last 30 years in Putney constituency.

Lee Rowley: 49 of the largest developers have signed a pledge to take responsibility for all necessary work to address life-critical fire-safety defects on buildings 11 metres and over in height that they had a role in developing or refurbishing. Signatories include Taylor Wimpey, Crest Nicholson, Barratt, Bellway, Persimmon and Berkeley.We will shortly publish a contract that will make the pledge commitments legally binding, and which we will expect developers to sign as soon as possible. The contract will contain provisions enabling us to monitor and audit the progress being made by developers to meet their remediation commitments.

Leasehold: Costs

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help support leaseholders in low-rise blocks facing uncapped costs to fix cladding and other building safety defects.

Lee Rowley: The Government has implemented a risk-based and proportionate approach to regulating safety in residential buildings and in remediating cladding and other building safety defects. We have introduced a new regulatory regime for residential buildings over 18 metres tall and extensive protections for leaseholders in buildings over 11 metres or five storeys, ensuring that those who built defective buildings take responsibility for remedying them and leaseholders are protected from the unfair burden of remediation costs to make their home safe.The Government has retrospectively extended the limitation period under Section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 enabling legal action against developers and contractors where works completed in the last 30 years made a dwelling not 'fit for habitation'.In general, the risk in lower-rise buildings is low and can be mitigated, for example, by installing fire alarms. We are aware of a very small number of buildings below 11 metres in height where remediation of unsafe cladding and other building safety defects is being proposed.On 20 April 2022, the Department for Levelling up Housing and Communities committed to examine cases where costly fire safety remediation works have been proposed in buildings below 11 metres, asking leaseholders and Members of Parliament to write to the department.We have written to freeholders and managing agents in affected buildings to make sure that any proposed works are necessary and proportionate and the rights to redress are being fully utilised.Leaseholders can also seek free information and advice from The Leasehold Advisory Service, funded by the Department.

Regional Planning and Development: East of England

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings and recommendations in the report prepared by the East of England APPG and EELGA: Levelling Up in the East of England - the Region’s Progress towards the Government’s Twelve Levelling Up Missions; and if he will make a statement.

Dehenna Davison: The report 'Levelling Up the East of England 2023-2030: The East of England's Progress Towards Achieving the Government's Twelve Levelling Up Missions' highlights the considerable strengths of the East of England and also the challenges facing many areas. The Government is determined to level up in all areas of the country, including for communities and businesses in the East of England, building on important recent steps such as the Norfolk and Suffolk deals.

Regional Planning and Development: Public Appointments

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2022 to Question 63318, what recent progress he has made on appointing levelling up directors.

Dehenna Davison: Announcements will be made in the usual way.

Freeports: Scotland

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his timetable is for the announcement of successful bids for Green Freeports in Scotland.

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to reduce delays in notification of the results of bids for Green Freeports in Scotland; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of delays in the establishment of Green Freeports on employment, innovation and development opportunities in Scotland.

Dehenna Davison: The UK and Scottish governments have jointly announced the two winners of the Green Freeports competition: The Forth Green Freeport, and Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport.With five high-quality applications received, both the UK Government and Scottish Government have been working jointly to consider the bids in full detail.The tax reliefs offered to Green Freeports will be available for years to come and have a lasting impact on the Scottish economy.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many payments were fraudulently charged to his Department’s budget using electronic purchasing cards in the financial years (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22; and what the total value was of fraudulent payments (i) made and (ii) recovered in each of those years.

Dehenna Davison: Zero.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Waste

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many tonnes of food waste were produced from his Departmental estate in financial year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 up to the end of December 2022.

Dehenna Davison: The requested information for 2021-2022 will be published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report for 2021-2022, due later this year. The data for April 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022 will be published in the Annual Report covering 2022-2023.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Remote Working

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of their Department’s employees work from home at least one day a week.

Dehenna Davison: Data on workforce attendance at Civil Service headquarters is published routinely at the following link.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Waste

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many tonnes of food waste were produced from his Departmental estate in financial year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 up to the end of December 2022.

Jeremy Quin: In line with the Greening Government Commitments, Cabinet Office has committed to measure and report on food waste, for estates with over 50 FTE (full time equivalent staff) and or over 500m2 floor area offering a food service.The requested information for 2021-2022 will be published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report for 2021-2022, due later this year. The data for April 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022 will be published in the Annual Report covering 2022-2023.

Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many cases were recorded in central government of the inappropriate use of electronic purchasing cards in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22; and how many of those cases resulted in criminal prosecutions.

Jeremy Quin: Each department's finance team is responsible for the monitoring and oversight of electronic purchasing cards issued by their department. Where misappropriation occurs consideration should be given to Civil Service procedures. If this leads to the dismissal of a Civil Servant, cases may be referred to the Internal Fraud Hub, run by the Public Sector Fraud Authority.For the period in question, there were no reported cases of internal misuse of an electronic purchasing card within the Cabinet Office. There were, however, over this period, a small number of cases of external electronic purchasing card fraud in this period (where an external fraudster has secured credit card information).Details of these cases were reported to the relevant authorities and all lost funds were recovered by the Cabinet Office in full.

Overseas Investment: Norfolk Island

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the value of UK direct investment in Norfolk Island.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the value of (a) imports and (b) exports between the UK and Norfolk Island.

Jeremy Quin: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Hon. gentlemen’s Parliamentary Question of 9 January is attached. UKSA Response (pdf, 117.9KB)

Cabinet Office: Mandarin Language

Catherine West: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Cabinet Office officials have professional working proficiency in Mandarin.

Jeremy Quin: We do not currently hold a central record of Mandarin skills (or other languages) in the department.

Official Cars: Security

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps (a) 10 Downing Street and (b) other Government departments have taken to ensure government cars do not contain preinstalled electronic devices that may threaten the security of both the occupants and HM Government.

Jeremy Quin: As has been the case under successive administrations, it is government policy not to comment on security procedures.Government cars are subject to regular security checks and have robust protections in place.

Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of spending over £500 with a Government procurement card, for how many (a) individuals and (b) nights his Department purchase accommodation at the Enterprise Hotel for (i) £1,151.10 on 1 November 2021 and (ii) £ 6,519.91 on 13 December 2021; and what the purpose was for those stays at that hotel.

Jeremy Quin: These transactions relate to accommodation at the Enterprise Hotel in Milan for the COP26 President, the Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, and members of the COP26 Unit. Delegates attended the Youth4Climate event held between 28 September 2021 and 30 September 2021, and the pre-COP summit held between 30 September 2021 and 2 October 2021. The room rate was €163 per night.

Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of spending over £500 with a Government procurement card in July 2021, for how many (a) individuals and (b) nights accommodation was purchased at the Athenaeum London on 23 July 2021; and what the purpose was for that stay at that hotel.

Jeremy Quin: Although the Rt Hon Lady asks about a transaction that took place in July 2021, that is, in fact, the date the transaction was cleared from the Cabinet Office’s expenses system.A procurement card was used by the then Deputy National Security Adviser Paddy McGuiness to host a lunch for 9 guests at the Athenaeum on the 29th September, 2017. The Deputy National Security adviser hosted French diplomatic guests, for a working lunch, ahead of a PM-level UK-France Summit that took place in January 2018.

Immigration: Older People

Geraint Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the number of (a) UK citizens who have returned from the EU to the UK and (b) EU citizens who have returned to EU countries who are over the age of 60 in the period since June 2016.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information her Department holds on how many (a) UK health workers have returned to UK from EU countries and (b) EU health workers have returned to EU countries from the UK since June 2016.

Jeremy Quin: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Hon. Gentlemen’s Parliamentary Questions of 12 January is attached. UKSA Response to 122030/122031 (pdf, 108.9KB)

Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of spending over £500 with a Government procurement card, for how many (a) individuals and (b) nights his Department purchased accommodation at the Hilton Hotel Berlin on 8 November 2021; and what the purpose was for the stay at that hotel.

Jeremy Quin: The COP26 President and four of his Private Office stayed in the Hilton Hotel Berlin for two nights to attend the Petersberg Dialogue international ministerial climate summit.

Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2022 to Question 106390, how many purchases with a value less than £500 were made against his Department’s budget through a Government procurement card in 2021.

Jeremy Quin: In the calendar year 2021, there were 9,164 transactions on Government procurement cards held by the Cabinet Office.

Mortality Rates: Children

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the age standardised mortality rates were by covid-19 vaccination status for children aged 10 to 14 per 100,000 people in the period since January 2021.

Jeremy Quin: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 9 January 2023 is attached. UKSA Response to 118969 (pdf, 127.6KB)

Cabinet Office: Remote Working

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of their Department’s employees work from home at least one day a week.

Jeremy Quin: I refer the Rt Hon Lady to the data on Civil Service headquarters occupancy which is published on Gov.UK. Although the data does not provide exact figures in response to the member’s question, data does provide the daily average staff working in the HQ building - 70 Whitehall as a percentage of staff in the office of current daily capacity.In the Cabinet Office, we have organised our estate to make maximum use of our office space. This will mean that most people will spend time in the office each week allowing them to realise the benefits of face to face collaborative working. There will be a mix of working patterns across the department depending on business need and the job role, which means attendance at the office may be different each week.

Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of spending over £500 with a Government procurement card in November 2021, for how many (a) individuals and (b) nights his Department purchased accommodation at the Park Inn hotel for £2,488.00 on 9 November 2021; and what the purpose was for the stay at that hotel.

Jeremy Quin: This transaction was for UK Security Vetting car parking and training facility space for 18 new joiners and 2 trainers during the period from 08 December 2020 to 22 January 2021.The training was provided to new case workers on how to process vetting casework. The sensitive nature of the training necessitated its provision in person. The in-person nature of the activity also helped ensure the appropriate handling of vetting policy, process and information.

Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for June 2021, what services were supplied by Speakers Corner on 3 June 2021; to what team within his Department were they supplied; and for what purpose they were required.

Jeremy Quin: Speakers Corner supplied a speaker for a reception event for of the annual internship programmes run by the Civil Service Fast Stream.The speaker was paid to offer their perspective on successful career strategies and skills development, complementing internal Civil Service inputs. They were hired to demonstrate that the Civil Service is keen to incorporate a wider, outward looking viewpoint.Although the Civil Service Fast Stream used external speakers to support its internship programmes - as in this instance - this is no longer the case and the Fast Stream now sources all speakers internally.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Visits Abroad

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much her Department has spent on (a) flights and (b) hotel accommodation for visits by (i) officials and (ii) Ministers to the US since September 2022.

Nigel Huddleston: The Department for International Trade has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for International Trade: USA

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much her Department spent on (a) flights and (b) hotel accommodation for her trip to Washington D.C. in November 2022.

Nigel Huddleston: The Department for International Trade has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Arms Trade: Export Controls

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she plans to review the UK arms export control regime.

Nigel Huddleston: The Department for International Trade has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Economic Cooperation: USA

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will publish the data her Department holds on the economic benefits to the UK economy of the memoranda of understandings with the US states of (a) Indiana, (b) South Carolina and (c) North Carolina.

Greg Hands: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave her on 13th January 2023, UIN 117618, and the answers I gave her today, UIN 119142, 119143.

Trade Agreements: India

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of cooperation agreements between the national health services in the UK and India on intellectual property matters.

Greg Hands: The Government does not believe that the UK National Health Service has any cooperation mechanisms with India on intellectual property matters related to health services.

Department for International Trade: Training

Sir Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many officials from his Department have attended courses on international trade with the World Trade Organisation in each year since 2016; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Huddleston: Most trade-related training in the Department for International Trade is organised by a central team, and the team has not arranged for any individuals or teams to attend courses at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). We have no records of anyone independently attending WTO courses.

Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when her Department plans to respond to the fourth report of the International Trade Committee entitled Parliamentary scrutiny of free trade agreements, published on 27 October 2022.

Greg Hands: The Department responded to the fourth report of the International Trade Select Committee on 5 January 2023.

Trade Agreements: Japan

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2022 to Question 104087 on Trade Agreements: Japan, whether the Joint Dialogue with Civil Society established under Article 16.16 of the UK-Japan Trade and Cooperation Agreement has met since the agreement came into effect.

Greg Hands: The first UK-Japan Joint Dialogue with Civil Society is scheduled for 6th February 2023.The Department for International Trade is working with the Government’s Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) Domestic Advisory Group to prepare for the Dialogue and ensure that civil society participants covering all areas of TSD are represented.

Trade Agreements

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many FTE civil servants in her Department worked on trade negotiations on 31 December (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Greg Hands: 534 FTE Civil Servants were working on trade negotiations in December 2020, 513 in 2021, and 516 in 2022.

Economic Cooperation: North Carolina

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department plans to publish an assessment of the impact on the UK economy of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation and trade relations between North Carolina and the United Kingdom.

Greg Hands: This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) seeks to bolster an already strong trading relationship, with £1.2bn of UK goods being imported into the state of North Carolina in 2021.It establishes a working group to monitor and deliver MoU activities and outcomes. Following a successful UK offshore wind delegation to North Carolina in November 2022, which explored trade and investment opportunities, the first working group meeting will take place shortly. The Government will publish an update following the meeting.

Elbit Systems UK: Exports

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will provide details of the types of equipment that have been exported by Elbit to Israel.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department holds information on whether any equipment that has been exported by Elbit to Israel has been used by the Israeli armed forces in any Israeli/Palestinian conflicts from inception to completion since its delivery.

Nigel Huddleston: HM Government only holds information on items exported by Elbit Systems UK Limited which were subject to strategic export controls. We can advise that since 2011 the company have had licences granted for the items below:Items licenced for exportControl EntryLicence Issuedcomponents for military communications equipment, military communications equipment, software for military communications equipmentML11, ML2125 Jan 2021body armour, components for military communications equipment, components for military electronic equipment, military communications equipment, military electronic equipment, technology for military communications equipmentML11, ML13, ML2213 Oct 2020 The purpose of export controls is to promote global security and facilitate responsible exports. We will not issue an export licence where to do so would be inconsistent with the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria which includes an assessment of whether exports could contribute to or undermine regional peace and security.

Foreign Investment in Uk

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the inward investment results (a) 2020 and 2021 published by her Department on 22 June 2021 and (b) 2021 to 2022 published on 29 June 2022, whether the category of FDI projects refers to (i) new projects that year or (ii) active projects, including currently active projects announced in previous years.

Andrew Bowie: The FDI projects included in the Department for International Trade’s inward investment results relate only to those that have landed in the UK during the respective financial year. This means that the activities planned as a result of the investment have commenced in the UK. The FDI statistics do not include FDI projects which have been announced but have not commenced. Further information on the criteria for projects to be included in the statistics is available in the technical annex accompanying the publication.

Environment Protection: Exports

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the announcement on 11 November 2021 by her Department of the Clean Growth programme, how many businesses in England received support from that programme in each month in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022, broken down by English region.

Andrew Bowie: The Clean Growth programme was launched at COP26 as one of the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) priority campaigns, to promote the UK’s innovative green exporters. DIT does not hold overall numbers of businesses supported, but statistics for key programme deliverables are captured. For example, November’s Green Trade and Investment Expo brought together 160 of the most important international investors, exporters and innovators, while our digital COP27 Pavilion saw 7000 visitors. Together these had a social media reach of more than 170k impressions.

Events Industry: Exports

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment has she made of the potential role of the business events industry in achieving the Government's export strategy objectives.

Andrew Bowie: Through our Export Strategy, the Department for International Trade (DIT) is working in partnership with business to help all UK firms, including those in the events industry, realise the benefits of international trade. Although the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has primary responsibility for the domestic events industry, DIT recognises and applauds the contribution made by the sector to the UK economy. The UK’s creative industries which annually organise numerous business events, exported £50.3 billion in services and goods in 2020, with creative accounting for 14% of total UK global services exports. (source: DCMS Economic Estimates) DIT support for UK companies at such business events, including arranging inward delegations of buyers and curating B2B meetings onsite, illustrates our commitment to the sector and the pivotal role it plays in our economic growth and global soft power, through the export sales process.

Iron and Steel: Russia

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate her Department has made of the volume of Russian steel entering the UK via third countries.

Andrew Bowie: In response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine the UK has announced an unprecedented package of measures to cut off the funding for Putin’s war machine. This includes targeting steel products, a key revenue source for Russia, where we have banned the import of all finished steel and implemented tariff increases of 35 percentage points on all steel from Russia. Since April, the UK has imported no steel defined as finished or semi-finished directly from Russia. The Government recognises that any circumvention of sanctions measures through third countries undermines their wider impact. We are working alongside international partners to build an evidence basis of any such activity.

Tuna: Maldives

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has made an assessment of the economic impact of imposing tariffs on the import of tuna into the UK from the Maldives.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government does not make an assessment on the economic impact of imposing tariffs on every product from every trading partner.

Department for International Trade: Hotels

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, for what purpose was a hotel booking made by her Department at the Clermont Charing Cross costing £1,649.000 on the 14 September 2021; and how many nights did that booking include.

Nigel Huddleston: This spend relates to an internal team-building and planning exercise, funded from a delegated learning and development budget. The total cost includes room hire, equipment hire and light-refreshments for 30 attendees. No hotel rooms were included in this booking. This was an event organised by civil servants for civil servants, the Secretary of State did not attend.

Department for International Trade: Redundancy Pay

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which Ministers formerly in her Department have received ministerial severance pay since leaving office in 2022.

Nigel Huddleston: Details of such payments are published in the departmental annual reports and accounts, and ministerial salaries are published on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data/salaries-of-members-of-his-majestys-government-april-2022-html

Trade Agreements: Impact Assessments

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what her Department's policy is on the publication of economic impact assessments for (a) new and (b) updates to existing free trade agreements; and if she will make a statement.

Greg Hands: The Government publishes analysis to assess the potential impacts of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in advance of negotiations. On conclusion of negotiations for a new agreement, a full impact assessment is published. The Government publishes analysis that is proportionate to the scope of negotiations and the agreement’s likely impact.

Tuna: Maldives

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of current tariffs on the import of tuna from the Maldives.

Nigel Huddleston: The UK currently applies the UK Global Tariff of 20% to imports of tuna from the Maldives. This rate is also applied to imports from all other trading partners where preferential arrangements are not in place. The Government continues to explore pragmatic opportunities to enhance bilateral trade relations with the Maldives in areas of mutual interest, including fishing.

Energy Charter Treaty

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what meetings officials in her Department have had with officials from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the Energy Charter Treaty in the last six months.

Greg Hands: Officials from the Department for International Trade continue to work closely with officials from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the Energy Charter Treaty and have held regular meetings in the last 6 months.

Economic Cooperation: Indiana

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department plans to publish an assessment of the impact on the UK economy of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation and trade relations between Indiana and the United Kingdom.

Greg Hands: This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) seeks to bolster an already strong trading relationship, with £1.0bn of UK goods being imported into the state of Indiana in 2021. It lays the foundation for closer cooperation on government procurement and priority sectors including energy and infrastructure. The MoU has provided a framework for increased engagement on economic development, trade promotion and academic collaboration. The UK held the first MoU working group with Indiana in December 2022, focused on delivering opportunities in energy transition, sustainability, and government procurement. The Government published an update following the meeting and will continue to monitor MoU activities and outcomes.

Arms Trade: Export Controls

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when her Department plans to respond to the report of the Committees on Arms Export Controls entitled UK arms exports in 2019, published on 28 October 2022.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government response to the report of the Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) was laid in Parliament as a Command Paper on 9 January 2023 in line with the deadline set by the CAEC. The paper is a joint response from the Secretaries of State for International Trade, Defence and for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, including contributions from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. This can be accessed on GOV.UK at the provided link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/caec-report-on-uk-strategic-export-controls-government-response.

Trade Agreements: India

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether there will be a provision in the UK-India free trade agreement safeguarding the manufacture of generic medicine for the NHS.

Greg Hands: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion, on 8 December 2022, UIN 92159.

Trade Agreements: India

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to ensure continued access to generic medicines from India through the India Free Trade Agreement.

Greg Hands: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Stockport on 1 December 2022, UIN 97778.

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-pacific Partnership: Dispute Resolution

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of seeking side letters to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement that would exclude the UK from investor state dispute settlement claims.

Greg Hands: I refer the Hon. Member for Brentford and Isleworth to the answer given by my Hon. Friend the Minister for International Trade to the Hon. Member for Harrow West on 21 December 2022, UIN: 111512.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Waste

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport,  with reference to her Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many tonnes of food waste were produced from her Departmental estate in Financial Year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 up to 31 December 2022.

Julia Lopez: DCMS does not hold the figures for this as all the food waste in our main offices is handled by contractors, and we share our buildings with fellow tenants.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Paper

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department’s Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25, how many reams of A4 paper were purchased by her Department in Financial Years (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22.

Julia Lopez: DCMS is committed to the Greening Government Commitments target of reducing government’s paper use by at least 50% from a 2017 to 2018 baseline.Our paper purchasing for the financial year 2019-2020 was published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report which is available on gov.ukOur paper purchasing for the financial year 2020-2021 will be published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report for 2020-2021, in early 2023.Our paper purchasing for the financial year 2021-2022 will be published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report for 2021-2022.GGC annual reporting is delayed due to Covid-19 impacts, but the government remains committed to reducing the environmental impact of its estate and operations.Established in 2010, the Greening Government Commitments (GGCs) set out the actions that the government will take to improve the environmental impact of the government estate and its operations. They demonstrate how the UK government is leading by example and working to improve the environmental performance of its own estate and operations, in line with our 25 Year Environment Plan commitments to improve the environment within a generation.Since the inception of the GGCs, the government has halved its greenhouse gas emissions and waste, in addition to making many other efficiencies. Progress against the commitments is published in GGC annual reports.

Social Media: Children

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2022 to Question 104206 on Social Media: Children, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of parents' rights of (a) access to and (b) ownership of their deceased children's digital profiles and posts on social media.

Paul Scully: The Government recognises the difficulties that some bereaved parents have experienced when accessing their loved ones' data. The question of parental rights to access of children’s digital profiles and posts is complex, so we are considering this matter with the Ministry of Justice and social media organisations, before deciding on any next steps.Currently, coroners have extensive powers under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 that allow them to require information for their inquests (which could include relevant digital data following the death of a child). Any party whom the coroner considers to have a sufficient interest in a coronial investigation, which may include bereaved parents, therefore has the right to receive documents and other evidence from the coroner which may be used in the inquest.Outside of coronial investigations, some social media companies might act voluntarily to share certain information about the material a child was viewing with bereaved families. However, others may operate policies of non-disclosure to third parties (including parents), unless a user takes active steps to nominate a person who may access his or her account after they die or there is a legal obligation to disclose the data. Some social media users might be concerned about the thought of disclosing private information or other digital assets to third parties after their death, and so an automatic right of access is unlikely to be appropriate in every case. Additionally, companies may have to consider other legal issues when responding to data disclosure requests, for example the data protection rights of individuals that were in contact with the deceased person prior to their death.

Digital Technology: Wales

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the levels of digital connectivity in rural areas of Wales.

Julia Lopez: At present, 96.7% of premises in Wales can access a superfast (>=30Mbps) broadband connection, with 57.4% able to access a gigabit-capable connection.As part of the UK Government’s £5 billion Project Gigabit, a Public Review was conducted last year to establish broadband suppliers build plans across Wales, and the results were published in November. We are working closely with the Welsh Government and plan to launch procurements in Wales in the coming months.In addition to our procurements, nearly 2,800 vouchers have been issued under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to help communities in rural and hard-to-reach areas of Wales.In December 2022, DCMS also launched a series of Alpha trials to test the use of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to improve broadband connectivity in very hard to reach locations. Up to 15 sites will be selected to trial the technology across the UK and to date four sites have been announced, including two in Snowdonia National Park.The £1 billion Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme is already delivering 4G coverage uplifts in Wales and across the whole of the UK. Currently, 4G coverage in Wales stands at 62% from all four operators and will rise to a minimum of 80% through the SRN. Coverage from at least one operator currently stands at 90% and will increase to 95% in Wales once the programme completes. For further details on the SRN and how it will enable rural businesses and communities to thrive please visit https://srn.org.uk/forecast-coverage-improvements/.

Parthenon Sculptures

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of returning the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece (a) on loan and (b) permanently.

Stuart Andrew: The Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum are legally owned by the Trustees of the British Museum, which is operationally independent of Government. Decisions relating to the care and management of the museum's collections are a matter for the Trustees of the British Museum.The British Museum, along with some other national museums, is prevented by law from deaccessioning objects in its collection. The British Museum has always said that it would consider any request for a loan of the sculptures to Greece – as it would any other object in its collection – as long as its normal conditions for loans are met.The Government fully supports the position taken by the Trustees of the British Museum and has no plans to change the law.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Waste

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the Greening Government Commitments for 2021-25 for her Office, the Governmental Legal Department and HMCPSI, how many tonnes of food waste were produced from their shared estate in financial year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 up to the end of December 2022.

Michael Tomlinson: The Attorney General’s Office, HMCPSI and Government Legal Department are all based in shared buildings, which are either managed by the Government Property Agency or another Government department. The data regarding food waste is collated on data provided per building, and cannot be broken down by department. The Greening Government Commitment accepts that, with the exception of greenhouse gas emissions, targets are aggregate central government targets and not bespoke minimum performance targets for individual departments.

Attorney General: Remote Working

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of her Department’s employees work from home at least one day a week.

Michael Tomlinson: The Attorney General’s Office do not monitor individuals’ attendance in the office and are unable to provide the proportion of employees working from home at least one day a week. Overall occupancy data is published https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-headquarters-occupancy-data. Decisions about workforce and working arrangements are delegated to individual departments and the AGO expect employees to attend the workplace for a minimum of 40% of their time. Over the past two years, the Civil Service has had to work in a more agile way whilst still delivering essential public services. Before the pandemic, most departments worked on a basis of a ratio of desks to staff and that remains the case – so hybrid working arrangements are not new. No office operates at 100% occupancy given there will always be a number of reasons why staff may be out of the office, for example people being on annual leave, attending meetings off site or external visits.